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There was a forceful knocking sound against his window, loud in the unusual silence of Stark Tower on the Academy Campus. Tony had been counting on the knock, waited for it even, and yet - it still managed to surprise him with its force, and he ran over to the window, opened it wide to let a raven fly into his bedroom.
“Loki,” he breathed as the raven transformed into his lover. Green eyes glinted mischievously in the warm light of Tony’s bedroom. Pale hands pulled him up close and Loki’s hair was still in the colour of his raven form; black, a shimmer of blue and looking soft, so tenderly soft to Tony.
“I’ve missed you, my mortal,” Loki whispered before he leant in and gave him a kiss; a short, wonderful thing that made Tony’s heart flutter in excitement and he pulled him in closer by the lapels of his green coat.
“Could you stop calling me that?” Tony protested although he couldn’t deny the exciting trickle running through him as Loki leant in to whisper another, “my mortal,” into his ear in his rough voice.
He clutched the material, hid his face in Loki’s neck and breathed him in; it’d been a while since Loki was so close to him. Thor always gave them an opportunity to sneak away for a date and sometimes, they also could meet in Club A in the darkness where Heimdall could not see them clearly and therefore, could not report to Odin.
Tony pulled away and led them to his bed, cuddling up to Loki and JARVIS started to play a movie on the TV for them. Sometimes they could meet up here in his Tower because they were meant to study and do projects together; he helped Loki in chemistry and mathematics, the Trickster gave him much-needed lessons in English literature and history. Those were the nights Heimdall didn’t look too closely because this was what Loki was meant to be doing: redeem himself and learn to help. As a reward, he wouldn’t be watched as closely in his exile.
But it was never enough and Hill was out to find prove they were closer than Odin wanted them to be and was going to report to Fury, who reported to Odin because they were allies in this. Tony had some respect for Fury but not in this, not when he betrayed his students for someone else.
He knew that Fury was only trying to protect him against the ‘evil machinations’ Loki was plotting – Fury’s opinion, not Tony’s – but Tony was old enough to bear possible decisions of his own. Nobody had protected him either when he’d been in Afghanistan and the results of this trip were still lingering in him, literally.
Movie nights like these were treasured because they didn’t need a lot of organising beforehand either where they invited their friends and would split amicably later – most of them knowing Loki and Tony wanted to spend time alone as well and Janet – dear, sweet Janet – made photos of them so that they had something.
“How long until your plan is getting set into motion?” Tony asked quietly and angled his head up to have a better look at the raven-haired god in his bed.
“Not long. Ayesha is on her way here.”
“A Sovereign”? Tony gasped and Loki nodded, a glint in his eyes. “Are you-“
“Ssshh, my mortal.” Loki chuckled, rolled them until he was crouching over Tony, his hands reaching for Tony’s wrists and held them above his head. “She is an opponent not to be underestimated. And if we beat her successfully, it will be easier to convince Odin that I have become redeemed.” Loki spat the last word out.
Tony frowned, wishing he could stroke the anger out of Loki’s handsome face. “Don’t you wish to be redeemed?”
“I don’t.” Loki glared at him angrily. “I am Loki, I am chaos, Anthony. I cannot be forced to be good or bad, I will always walk on both sides and neither at the same time. But,” and as his voice became tender, Tony’s heart started to beat faster and he went lax under his trickster. “I can trick Odin into thinking that I’m training to turn into the hero he wants me to be. For you, I will play to be a better man than I actually am-“
“Lokes,” Tony interrupted him. “You are good enough as you are -“
“Am I?” Loki looked at him with curiosity.
“Yes.” Tony’s mouth twitched. “But you can become even better in my books,” he added with a wink in an attempt to dissolve the cold tension in the room.
“And how?”
“You’ve got all night to figure it out, sweetheart,” he said and lifted his groin. “Figure it out.”
It took Loki less than a minute to figure out how to be redeemed in Tony’s eyes.
He left him some beautiful reminders of that; bites were adoring his throat and Tony stroked over them absently as he watched Loki get dressed. The dark pants first – an unfortunate reminder that Loki didn’t believe in underwear, something Tony really loved when it had to be quick – the shirt next, a black tie went with it and last, his green coat.
Loki walked back over to Tony, gave him another kiss that tasted of desperation and yearning before he stepped back and transformed into his raven form.
Tony opened the window wide, his eyes following the black bird as he flew out of the Tower and took Tony’s heart with him. He swore he could feel the dark claws dig into it, that much did it hurt seeing his ravenette leave.