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It had all happened in a matter of seconds. Loki should have seen it coming.
They were fighting Doom again, that jerk who thought he had more magical experience than he did, but Loki had to admit that this time, all the Doombots hurled wildly across New York had given the team a hard time. A few months earlier, he would have stayed well away from the ridiculous idea of mingling with Thor's Midgardian shield brothers, the same ones who had humiliated him during that stupid invasion in 2012.
Sure, Odin's punishment forced him to do penance on Midgard, and to assist as a consultant to the Avengers, but that didn't mean Loki was going to be happy to do it, let alone stay around those fools any longer than necessary. And yet, in a few months, things had changed.
Oh, it wasn't because of his broth... Thor's repeated attempts to get him to join the others on movie nights or lunches and dinners together, and it wasn't because he'd suddenly developed a taste for communal life in Stark Tower.
No, as much as Loki was reluctant to admit it, it was due to the mortal who had given his name to said tower.
Anthony Stark had been a pathetic little mortal with a big ego at first, and then Stark had dragged him into his laboratory despite his bad temper. Because apparently Stark was interested in his magic (an understatement, the man's enthusiasm was delirious) and not put off by Loki's cold sarcasm. In fact, the engineer was responding to him in kind, and Loki, with surprise, had found Stark's mind unusually bright and able to keep up with him, even defy him.
He couldn't help but notice the genius' pungent humour, his wounds which he cleverly hid behind masks, and of course, that the man was obviously attractive. The weeks had gone by and Loki had noticed with dismay that Stark had become Tony, and that Tony trusted him, casually tapping his shoulders, offering him food and drink, working with him on joint projects. He had even been given increasingly familiar nicknames, a feature reserved for the man's friends.
And as things developed, the Tower began to feel less like a prison to be endured.
Tony's close friend Banner, whom Loki hated because he remembered too well the green monster inside him, apparently trusted Tony's judgment.
He had begun to work alongside Loki without flinching when he came to the lab to work on his projects. He had even offered him tea, and the tea wasn't even poisoned. It was delicious. Loki couldn't stay away from someone who knew how to make a good tea. Tony, for all his good qualities, always preferred to ingest gallons of the black poison he called coffee.
After Banner's discreet friendship, the insufferably straight Steve Rogers had come to give him a very serious little speech about integration and trust, and that he was glad to see Loki feeling better. Disgusting.
Loki had almost stabbed him just to wipe the honest smile off his face. But then, in the next battle, Captain America had stopped many of the shots aimed at Loki with his shield. Of course, Loki could have stopped them himself. But it was... it was almost nice, having someone do it for him.
His broth... Thor had noticed these new relationships too, as he'd tried to grab Loki in a delighted hug.
Loki had dodged him and put blue dye in the blonde moron's shampoo. Tony had thought the prank was funny. And soon Loki had been encouraged to unleash his chaotic nature as the engineer told him that a prank battle had been going on for a few years in the Avengers HQ between him and Barton.
Barton had been surprised at first, then suspicious, then unleashed when he realised that a third person had appeared in the battle.
And Barton, well Barton hated Loki, that was obvious, but he'd started to relax his posture when the god entered a room, and he'd even laughed ostentatiously when he'd found his arrows turned into neon pink skis. He had even managed to slip hot sauce into Loki's tea. It was as if a strange truce had been established between them.
As for the Black Widow, Loki knew by the sparkle in her intelligent eyes that if he did anything, she'd be on him in under three seconds to make him regret it. Bold little spy. Meanwhile, she'd agreed to spar with Loki the other day, and he'd been, deep down, shocked that she was so fast, and that she didn't seem to consider Loki's tricks to be 'tricks unworthy of a true warrior'.
And so, Loki was somehow now, even if it remained a nicely kept secret, a real member of the team.
And for the first time in a very long time, perhaps for the first time at all, Loki had to learn to fight as part of a team. Usually he fought fiercely alone, without taking anyone else into the equation, without taking unnecessary precautions for himself. He could heal afterwards.
But his new teammates... well, not only did he have to get used to their fighting style, to support them, to get used to them helping and covering for him... but he had to get used to their mortal reality. They were easily wounded, and far more fragile than a god, they could not ignore their injuries.
That was why he had thrown himself with all his strength into the battle against the Doombots, as recklessly as Thor, because if the robots could hurt him, they would do worse to his teammates.
And indeed, already Barton had retreated, and Rogers was surrounded. Even the Widow seemed to be in trouble, facing the robots that were harassing her.
Thor and Iron Man, in the air, were firing at the mass of robots swarming everywhere. Loki's teeth were clenched.
He was aware of the blood on his face, and despite his teammates' worried questions about it in the comms, he knew it didn't matter, it might look bad but it would heal soon enough.
That was why he kept going, throwing out bursts of his magic, barely protecting himself, some adrenaline coursing through his veins. And, really, Loki should have seen it coming. He'd managed to take out a bunch of robots at once, but in doing so, he'd left his back exposed. And then it had all happened so quickly. Within seconds he had turned around, but not fast enough to parry the fire of the robots amassed behind him.
He had mentally prepared himself for the inevitable pain, a wound that would be as painful as it was unnecessary. There was no way those shots wouldn't hit him.
Thor was busy, Barton was far away, the Widow and Rogers had seen nothing. And Iron Man had been hit seconds before, Loki had seen him struggling to get out of the suit. There was no one to help him. That was why what happened next was absolutely impossible.
There was an indistinct howl, and a bolt of lightning passed in front of Loki at superhuman speed. Loki froze and saw a foreign back shake from the force of the gunfire, and then the stranger fell to the ground. When the stupor ceased to paralyze him, he rushed forward, his eyes wide. It was not a man.
There was an unrecognisable form prostrate on the ground. There was bloody fur. Loki struggled to understand.
He had seen some of these creatures during his time in the Nine Kingdoms, and he knew they were present in Midgardian mythology as well, but it was impossible. It was a werewolf that was collapsed in front of him.
Screams rang out in the communications, but Loki couldn't hear anything. His mouth was dry as he watched in horror as the werewolf raised its head towards him. He immediately recognised the eyes that met his. They were a warm, familiar brown.
- Anthony," he stammered, for he was, rare as it was, at a loss for words.
He had no answer, because again the robots were firing. There was a terrifying roar, and the werewolf pounced on the Doombots. Loki watched, petrified, as furious claws tore at the metal of the mad scientist's creations.
- Anthony, he repeated.
The werewolf was kneeling in the middle of the still crackling, dying robots. In a sudden flash, the claws retracted and the fur disappeared. Eyes that were once again human closed briefly. Only then did Loki realise how much blood there was.
He didn't even think as he bent over the naked, trembling body, running his hands vibrant with magic to close his friend's wounds. His teammates had managed to get rid of the rest of the Doombots as they ran over, crowding around the scene. They looked as shocked as they were worried, and Banner mumbled something about getting medical help.
Loki thought no one was paying attention to him, but as he tried to teleport back to his chambers to think about what he had just seen, Banner grabbed his arm. His voice was stern.
- You need medical help too, Loki.
Loki wanted to protest, for his magic could handle it, but... he'd already used up a lot of his powers today, almost to the point of running into the magical limits Odin imposed on him. He gave in.
When they were all finally back at the Tower and Tony had been left in the hands of the doctors despite his loud protests that he was fine, the rest of the team stood in the common room in awkward silence.
Finally, Rogers asked them all to sit down for an "emergency meeting". Loki was the god of lies. He knew immediately that they were all already aware of... Tony's nature. Rogers confirmed it at once.
- We knew Tony was a werewolf. It's classified information, of course, and no one knows except his closest circle of friends.
Natasha intervened, her face serious.
- I've already called Pepper to deal with any videos that might come out on the Internet.
- Loki," Rogers continued, "you're a member of the team now and I think we all trust you. You fought well today, we owe you a debt of gratitude.
To Loki's astonishment, everyone else nodded. It was rare to have gratitude and appreciation after a fight, and Loki felt oddly warm and fuzzy inside. He wondered if it was an effect of one of the midgardian drugs he'd been given.
Rogers leaned forward, his eyebrows gravely furrowed.
- We thought Tony would tell you his secret soon anyway, but the way it happened... well, it's not ideal. We hope you'll respect your, er, discovery. Tony's not dangerous, he's in control of his, er... animal part. He usually never uses it in combat. It's an asset he doesn't want. Anyway, it's up to him to clear this up with you if he wants.
Loki nodded, always feeling as if the situation was unreal. None of this made sense.
Since that seemed to be all the others had to say, Loki teleported mechanically to his quarters. He sat down on the bed and thought. He still didn't understand. The voice of JARVIS, Tony's AI, finally brought him out of his thoughts.
- Mr. Loki? Mr. Stark is calling you. He's waiting for you in his penthouse.
- Very well, thank you," he answered without thinking about it.
He was still thinking in the lift when it opened to the penthouse. Tony was there, and immediately stood up when he saw Loki. Loki looked at him with his eyes a little wider than usual, and Tony's face looked as sad as it did resigned.
- OK, Loki, say what you want to say. Let's make this quick.
Loki frowned, not understanding what the other man was getting at.
- I," he began slowly, and he saw the genie's face scrunch up even more, perhaps mistaking his hesitation for something else.
Did Tony think he was afraid of him, or disgusted?
- Anthony," he said carefully, "I don't understand. What you did...
- I'm sorry," he cut in immediately, looking as if he hated himself. I'm sorry, I should have known better. I knew that... I know you don't pay attention to yourself in battle, and I know it's because you're all that god stuff, but sometimes I forget that. I should have known better. I should have known you didn't need this.
- Anthony, without you, I would have been hurt. It would have healed but it would have been painful and it would have been my fault because it is true that I am too reckless in our battles. It is because I am immortal and you are not, that is also true. You can't take that kind of damage.
Tony ran a tired hand over his face and Loki didn't understand why he was so distressed.
- I know, Loki. I'm sorry, okay? I forgot.
- Anthony, what don't you hear, you stupid mortal? Thank you. Thank you for protecting me even though it was stupid because I don't know how you could think I'd rather have you hurt yourself than me, when I can handle it and you can't. Besides, seeing you hurt yourself is much worse than hurting myself.
He'd been honest, too honest perhaps, but he'd never been able to do otherwise with Tony Stark. The genius was definitely his weakness.
- What I don't understand," he added in the face of the other man's silence, "is why you would want to protect me like this. You should know I'm not worth it. Besides, Rogers said you don't usually turn in battles. Why would you...?
Tony looked like he was in more and more pain.
- Loki, I'm sorry you had to find out like this. I wanted to tell you... well, maybe. The Starks have always had this weird genetic mutation, and it's an ancient secret, and it's fucking shitty, but I have instincts, and... I usually have more control. I never let the... other one out in battle. Too many surprises.
- So why?
Tony let out a heavy sigh, then spat out the words very quickly.
- My fucking instincts, Lo', I'm sorry. It wasn't, but I thought... I saw the danger, and I thought you were in danger, and it just came out. I couldn't leave you, I couldn't.
Things seemed to get even less clear.
- So you threw yourself in front of those shots, because... your instincts want to protect me?
Tony closed his eyes painfully as if somehow Loki had understood something essential. But the god didn't feel like anything like that.
- Loki, you don't have to do this. You already knew that, didn't you? Yes, my foolish instincts want to protect you. We werewolves, we... we protect what we love.
Loki let out a small shocked breath. Tony was no longer looking at him.
- Anthony. Do you love me?
Tony didn't answer, his jaw twitching.
- I'm sorry," he said instead. 'I didn't mean to... I know you don't. I know I ruined our friendship.
Oh, mortals were fools. Loki grabbed his chin and gently forced the genius to look at him. He wanted to wipe away that pained expression.
- Anthony," he whispered, "you are a fool. I've loved you for a long time, and this isn't going to ruin anything. In fact, I don't think anything is going to change the way I feel.
The genius's eyes lit up as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing. Loki wasn't about to let him doubt his affection any longer. It all happened in a matter of seconds, and suddenly they were kissing, but this time everything was perfectly understandable.