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Part 1 of Soulmate Mash-Up
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FrostIron*, Soulmate fics, Tony Stark
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Published:
2014-12-13
Completed:
2015-01-08
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2/2
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Speak to My Heart

Summary:

Every being in all of the Nine Realms had a soulmate...except Loki. He'd felt the surge of magic when a bond should have formed, but no words ever scrawled across his skin. He was a monster, unloved and unlovable. He was meant for no one and nothing...so why was this mortal claiming to be his?

Chapter 1: Too Perfect for Words

Chapter Text

"You can't be serious…You've got to be kidding me!"

Loki's eyebrows drew together in confusion. The mortal had known he was there. They'd made eye contact on the balcony before heading inside. He'd watched as the platform's mechanisms dismantled the metal suit from around Stark's frame and revealed his vulnerable flesh. It'd been an odd move, but completely normal compared to the way he'd nearly tripped over his own feet when Loki spoke to him, asked him if he planned to appeal to the god's humanity. Now the mortal man was gaping at him like he'd never seen him before in his life and it was just downright irritating.

"What?"

"I just…I, uh…I need a drink. You want a drink? Let me get you a drink."

Then the infuriating man was crossing the room to slip behind the bar and fumble with one of the liquors behind it. He poured two glasses with the skill of a long-term alcoholic and slid one towards Loki as he downed his own, quickly refilling it.

"Alright, here's the deal, reindeer games. Apparently, you and I," he motioned back and forth between them with two fingers, "are soulmates. So this invasion thing? I'd really appreciate it if that didn't happen."

Fury flared inside Loki's chest and he crossed the room in only a few strides, grabbing the mortal by his throat and pulling him bodily across the counter of the bar. Had Thor been the one to spill his secret? To tell the mortal that Loki bore no mark of the soulmate? That Loki had felt the tell-tale flare of magic as a bond should have formed but no sign ever appeared upon his flesh? No scrawl had written itself across his skin with his soulmate's first words.

"You dare to mock me, mortal? I should snap your neck like a twig for this insolence!"

Stark's hands had flown up to clutch at the one holding his throat and they tugged at it uselessly. His eyes were wide with panic. Loki could all but smell the fear on him.

"Woah, woah, woah! Let's just calm down, okay? How about you start by letting me breathe?"

Loki froze, his fingers loosening just a fraction to allow air back into Stark's lungs but not enough for him to escape. The man's lips hadn't moved with his panicked exclamation, too busy trying to draw in air…but how was that possible?

"How…?"

"Tech. It's a computer program. It reads my brainwaves and forms the words for me. I can't…I can't actually speak."

Loki's mind was reeling, trying to process what was happening, what it all meant. Stark couldn't speak? Barton had never mentioned anything like that when he'd given Loki his reports on the team, but it hadn't actually been relevant. Slowly releasing his grip on the mortal, Loki took a step back to run a critical eye over him. Stark coughed a couple of times and rubbed his throat, the caution and bit of fear not leaving his eyes. For a moment, Loki actually felt guilty for putting that look there before he brushed the feeling aside as preposterous.

"What do you mean, you cannot speak?"

His voice was tight, controlled. The god was disgusted with himself for wanting so badly for the mortal's words to be true. He'd wanted for so long to discover that he really did have a soulmate, never speaking the desire aloud but always feeling the hole in his heart. He'd gone centuries before he'd even felt the flare of the supposedly forming bond. Then, when he'd discovered his skin was not his own, that he was a Jotun by birth, he'd rushed to drop Odin's illusion in the hopes of scouring his true flesh for his soulmate's words. Each time hope had risen, it had been dashed. He'd thought he'd rid himself of such pitiable urges.

"I was, uh, kidnapped, a few years ago, by a terrorist group in Afghanistan." He paused, giving Loki a quick glance. The fear was still there, but so was desire and it made something inside Loki's chest clench to see it. "Do you know where that is?"

Loki gave something like a half nod in response.

"I know well enough."

That seemed to suit the genius just fine.

"Right. Well, they wanted me to build things for them, weapons. I was really good at that, back then." The mortal's eyes weren't looking at Loki anymore, instead looking through him, and reliving his own experience. "I didn't want to do it, so they tortured me…" Loki's fists clenched unconsciously at his side and his teeth ground together. Who would dare put such a haunted look upon this mortal's face? The man shook himself to come back to the present. "Long story short, my vocal cords were destroyed beyond repair. I can't make noise. So I designed something to make it for me."

He tilted his head back and to the side a little bit to display his neck and tapped a patch of skin that protruded just the tiniest bit in a half-inch round. It was so subtle that Loki would have never seen it without looking for it. He reached out to run a finger over it but came up short as Stark flinched away. A shot of self-hatred flew through Loki's chest at the action.

He withdrew his hand and glanced around the room, not quite able to continue looking at the man he'd had no problems with threatening just minutes before. His fingers twined together in front of him and he gazed at them as though they held the secrets to the universe.

"Does it…sound like you?"

He wasn't sure why it was so important, but he had to know, to find out whether or not the mortal's voice sounded anything like the one he used to have. The god wanted to know what he'd sounded like before the kidnapping. The edges of the mortal's mouth tugged upwards in the hint of a smile.

"I calibrated it exactly."

Stark's gaze seemed riveted on Loki's hands, a kind of longing in his eyes that was slowly overtaking the fear. The god wanted nothing more than to take that as an invitation to reach out towards the other man, but he couldn't take any chances. He did not want to set them back from this tentative truce they seemed to have formed.

"And you…bear my words?"

He tried to keep the hope out of his voice, the wish and desire and need for it to be true. Instead he tried to convey a silent question, a request for truth. After only a moment's hesitation Stark nodded and stripped off the dark t-shirt he'd been wearing underneath his armor. Loki felt his mouth go dry as he took in the sight of the mortal's skin.

He was tan all over, it seemed, and built with the hard lines of one who put effort into their physique. His body was perhaps not impressive by Aesir standards, but it was compact and efficient which Loki could certainly appreciate. The mechanism in his chest glowed brightly, casting shadows across the many scars that littered his frame. Loki wanted nothing more in that moment than to trail his hands across the mortal's torso and trace each one of those scars, to memorize them and learn where they had each come from.

The mortal's hands were on his belt then, tugging it from its loops and pushing his waistband down just enough to expose his hip. Dark works scrolled themselves across his flesh, following the line of his V, up his hip and curling just barely around his side. Loki instantly recognized the swirling flow of his own handwriting and he couldn't contain the near keen than escaped his throat at the sight.

"They are…they are mine…"

He reached for the mortal again, his mortal, and this time the man did not flinch away. His thumb skimmed over the words, feeling the skin beneath them as though it were a gift from the Norns. Warmth bloomed in his chest and a grin slowly split across his face without him ever giving it permission to. He stared at his mortal through wonder-filled eyes, as though finally seeing him for the first time. Stark was smiling warmly back, clearly affected just as much by their contact.

"Yes…They are yours."

Loki felt his smile replaced by a frown, his thumb never ceasing its motions along the other's hip. It was a thoughtful frown, not a displeased one, and he all but purred in delight as Stark leaned closer to him, the warmth of their bodies pressing together.

"And I do not bear a mark because your voice is not your own…I must confess that I had not considered that a possibility."

Stark snorted, his eyes flickering shut as he melted into Loki's frame, letting the god support him completely as Loki's other hand began to stroke the mortal's skin as well. The god could spend the rest of his life simply doing this and be completely satisfied, he decided.

"Well, it's a good thing I'm a genius, then. I can do the thinking for both of us."

Loki chuckled, moving to nuzzle the side of Stark's head, ruffling his hair with his breath.

"I have a few things in mind for us that do not involve the need to think."

That drew a sharp inhale from the mortal in his arms as the man pressed into him further. A calloused hands came up to stroke the side of Loki's neck before Stark pulled away just far enough for them to be able to look each other in the face. His eyes were blown wide with desire and it was everything Loki could do not to throw him to the floor and ravage him right then and there.

"Right. Yeah. I'd like that, but right now you're kind of invading my planet and that's really not cool for a first date."

Loki blinked, then blinked again. He'd completely forgotten about the invasion. Why was that happening again?

"Thanos."

Stark's brows furrowed in confusion.

"What?"

"Thanos is behind the invasion. I am simply a figurehead, a pawn to give his mindless army a face. His true goal is to gain the Infinity Stones and destroy each of the Nine Realms. I had hoped to leave enough holes in his plan for your team to stop me. Without the Tesseract in his grasp and with me imprisoned on Asgard I would be able to regain my strength from being his captive." His gaze flickered to the spear he had at some point dropped to the floor. "His scepter grants power over the mind, but I maintained some control."

Now that he thought about it, when had that influence disappeared from him? It should not have been something easy to overlook. A tightening grip on his biceps drew him back to the present and his gaze focused on the man before him. Stark's expression was thunderously dark and Loki felt a shiver run up his spine at the danger it promised.

"This Thanos guy…he hurt you?"

Though he'd always been one to hide his weaknesses and failings, Loki felt compelled to do the exact opposite with the man before him. He wanted to tell the mortal everything that had happened in the void, everything he had experienced to bring him to such a low place.

"My Chitauri jailors were the ones who actually caused the damage, but they did so at his command, yes. I was a lost god, adrift in a sea of nothingness when he found me. There was not much left of me for him to break."

The muscle in Stark's jaw twitched and his eyes burned with fury.

"I'll kill him."

Loki chuckled, drawing the man forward to press their lips together.

"Let us do it together."

Chapter 2: Magic Sex Powers

Summary:

Loki and Tony deal with the invasion...and then the team deals with them...kinda.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

"Ummm…Did I just see Loki take out a group of Chitauri that were attacking Cap and rescue a woman from an overturned car?"

Barton's voice sounded uncertain over the coms and Tony couldn't help but snort in amusement. The invasion hadn't even been going on for ten full minutes yet and he was already finding himself amused. They already had the portal closed, anyway. It wasn't like there was anything left but clean up at this point.

"Oh, yeah. Sorry about that, guys. I probably should have mentioned Loki switched sides. Totally a Good Guy now."

There was a chorus of people calling his name over the com link with varying degrees of exasperation and anger. He felt inordinately pleased with himself at the sound. Pepper would have his head. With a whoop of laughter he dipped down to snatch Loki up in his arms, relishing the feeling even though there were layers of armor between them.

"Well, well, fancy meeting you here."

Loki seemed entirely unperturbed by the sudden lift and merely pressed in closer. A wide grin was spread across his face, more joyful than manic as it had been before. Tony decided he liked that expression on his lover's face. He would happily spend the rest of his days making sure it stayed there.

"You are incorrigible, Stark." Loki laughed. "How am I to slaughter my enemies if you keep snatching me away?"

Tony pouted.

"Hey! I thought we'd gotten past the whole last name thing! Suddenly I'm 'Stark' again?"

Loki just rolled his eyes. It felt like they'd done this dance a hundred times before and they both knew all the moves. It was comforting and filled Tony's chest with a warm glow that made him feel entirely too much like a teenage girl in a poorly-written romance.

"Anthony, then."

The inventor grinned.

"Widow's got herself surrounded down on Park and 5th. Figured you'd do better with her than with lending the Hulk a hand. I don't think he's very fond of you still."

Loki chuckled.

"An amusing beast, though. Should he harm you, I will rend his bones from his flesh and grind them to dust."

His voice dropped an octave as he spoke and Tony couldn't help the shiver that ran down his spine…or the hardness that stirred between his legs. He groaned audibly and bit his lower lip.

"Oh, babe, the things you do to me…"

Loki pinned him with a fiery emerald gaze as they touched down in a pack of Chitauri warriors.

"You have no idea the things I will do to you."

And then he was gone, cape snapping in the wind as he whirled to cut the head clean off one of the soldiers and dive further into the battle. It would take him mere moments to cut a path to Natasha and provide her with more than adequate back up. Tony waited for only a second before jetting off to provide his own back up. Loki truly did look like a god as he danced across the battle field.

The Hulk roared his approval upon catching sight of Tony and threw half a Chitauri carcass at him in greeting. Tony figured that if he couldn't convince Bruce to stay after the battle, he would still have a pretty good shot at convincing the Big Guy. Besides, board meetings would be a Hell of a lot more fun with a giant green rage monster hovering over his shoulder and wanting to play.

"What's up, Cabbage Patch? You don't mind sharing some of your toys, do you?"

It was honestly thrilling to fight beside the Hulk in ways that it wasn't when his other team mates were involved. There was just something about that sheer power and strength at his back that made Tony laugh with joy as he fired off repulsor blasts. He was even more pleased when he had discovered that Hulk was a very protective battle partner. Any Chitauri who dared take aim at Tony's armor was almost guaranteed to take a big, green fist to the face.

"So explain to me," Barton's voice came over the coms, "exactly how Loki is a Good Guy now?"

Tony almost wished he was in front of the archer so that his artful shrug could be properly appreciated.

"Long story short, I have magical sex powers."

He all but preened at the indignant sputters that came across the com link. He barely even knew this Barton guy and he already enjoyed riling him up almost as much as Tony did Rhodey. This Avengers thing was seriously getting to be way more fun than it should be.

"How are you guys doing out there, by the way? Hulk and I are smearing the last of these guys across the pavement over here. Anybody need back up?"

"Cap's still got a few left, but it looks like that's it. You do realize I'm checking your eyes the second this is over, right?"

Tony snorted.

"Yeah, yeah. Just no hitting me over the head. Brain this beautiful? I simply can't risk it."

"I don't know, Stark," Natasha chimed in. "I think your skull is thick enough to handle it."

Less than half an hour after it started, the Invasion of New York was over. With the exception of the one Leviathan that had gotten through before Loki had closed the portal, there hadn't been anything but foot soldiers involved. Damage had been kept to a minimum and Tony had yet to hear about any civilian casualties. That might change in the coming hours, but he was willing to take it for now.

The Avengers themselves gathered back at Tony's tower, the structure having survived the battle with little more than a bit of cosmetic damage. Tony had to admit it was a bit surreal to be standing in his living room with a bunch of superheroes, having just stopped an alien invasion, and watching an assassin stroll out of his elevator with none other than Tony's soulmate. He hadn't called Pepper yet, something he really needed to get around to if he wanted to live to see the morning, but she was going to have an absolute conniption over the fact that his soulmate was a god. Of course, she probably wasn't going to be very surprised, either.

"Anthony."

Loki greeted him with a shallow dip of his head and smoldering eyes. He'd vanished his helmet at some point since the battle had ended and now stood in only his armor. He looked no less imposing without it. Tony felt his mouth go dry and his pants tighten at the sight. His hand moved almost unconsciously to his hip where Loki's words were emblazoned on his flesh. The move did not escape the god's notice, either.

"Brother!"

Tony's vision was suddenly filled with red as Thor swept past him to wrap Loki into a bone-crushing hug. Though the blonde was laughing and grinning like an absolute madman, the younger god had taken up an expression that was nothing short of murderous. He drew away from Thor the moment he was released.

"You are no brother of mine! It would suit you well to remember that. I am no spawn of Odin."

Loki all but spat the All-Father's name and Tony could see how Thor flinched at his tone. It brought a frown to the inventor's face. He knew so little about what had brought Loki to Earth, what had driven a wedge between him and his family, but he was getting the distinct impression that Odin had something to do with it.

"You will always be my brother! I do not care what blood runs through our veins! You joined our side to fight off the invasion! I knew you were not lost, whatever had blinded you so temporarily."

He took a step towards Loki again, but the younger god shied away, practically snarling at him. The visceral reaction got Tony's own hackles raised. If Thor didn't watch himself, Tony was liable to put the Iron Man armor right back on and start another fight.

"I hardly defended this planet for your sake, Thor." Loki's words dripped acid as he drew himself up to his full height, glaring haughtily down his nose at the other Aesir. "Do not mistake my actions as redemption."

"It does not matter if the sake was mine or this planet's. Your actions proved the goodness that still lives within you!"

"Goodness? You are more of a fool than I thought."

Loki scoffed, turning away and stalking towards the rest of the Avengers. Tony could feel Steve tensing at his back, but he was much too preoccupied with watching Loki's mile-long legs to pay him much attention. Bruce seemed to be watching the whole thing with rapt fascination from off to the side. They should probably be grateful the Hulk hadn't made another appearance at the sight of Loki's arrival.

"My actions were motivated by pure selfishness. Had I gone through with conquering this petty world, I would never have gotten a prize so delicious as the one I have now won…"

Loki stopped in front of the inventor, fingers coming up to trail along the side of the mortal's neck. Tony sighed and tipped his head closer to savor the feeling. A smirk twitched the edges of Loki's lips and he moved his hand so that his fingers could slip behind the inventor's head, carding into his hair. Tony's eyes fluttered shut at the sensation and he could practically feel Loki purr.

"Oh, my God…"

Tony's eyes snapped open and focused on Barton, who was openly gaping at them.

"Oh, my God. You were serious! You-! You-!"

He didn't seem quite able to form words as his brain struggled to catch up with his eyes. Tony probably would have been much more amused by the display if he weren't much more interested in getting Loki out of the room and out of his clothes. It didn't help matters in the slightest that Nicholas fucking Fury chose that moment to storm into the pent house.

"Somebody had better be ready to explain to me what the Hell is going on here!"

Barton just switched his bewildered gaze over to his boss.

"…Stark has magical sex powers."

Notes:

Alright, alright! You all managed to talk a second chapter out of me! But there will not be a third, you hear?! There will NOT! I refuse!

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