Work Text:
~ I woke up alone, but my wounds were clean.
Tony doesn’t understand it at first. The fight had been... gruesome. Really fucking horrible, actually. It wasn’t like battles on Earth where you went back to SHIELD or Avenger Tower or found a hospital. In the middle of space with only the Guardians of the Galaxy for company, things were... a lot less hospitable.
The bifrost was out of action while Asgard was licking their wounds. Steve and Thor and hell half of the Avengers were on three different planets. They were all trying to coordinate and work with different people to just try and win this fucking War of the Gems.
The only original Avenger he had with him was Clint. And well, Quicksilver was with them, but he was second generation and stuck to Clint like glue; so really, it was just Tony and his suit alone in space. He didn’t even have JARVIS since Vision was off fuck knows where trying not to get his gem ripped out. Peter Quill would have been alright to have, but he was off hunting down something with Gamora.
It was him, his suit, Clint, the fast puppy and the talking raccoon. This was apparently Tony’s life.
The thing was though; he’d gone to bed on his strip of moss covered grass pretty banged up. He’d barely had enough bandages to wrap up his worst wound and he’d left the rest to dry on his skin, hoping he wouldn’t end up with an infection.
Tony had known the state he was in before falling asleep but this was... different. His wounds weren’t exactly gone; they still ached and hurt and the cuts were definitely there, but they felt... tended to. The dried blood was cleaned away and his bandage had been tied expertly rather than the haphazard mess he’d been too tired to fix the night before.
He’d sat up and looked around, finding the rest of his jungle-slogging crew fast asleep. The sun hadn’t even risen and he could feel the chill in the air. He could also feel... magic in the air. The way it raised the hair on the back of his neck and made him feel like a spark had just run through him.
It wouldn’t have been the first time he’d gained a little bit of help in the health department from one particular mage, but usually it involved fighting together, something he’d done with Loki numerous times over the last few years.
Loki, however, was meant to be on Jotunheim.
But it wouldn’t have been the first time Loki had appeared where he wasn’t meant to be. Like Tony’s lab. Or his bedroom.
Tony found himself smiling slightly and remarking, “I thought you were off being an Ice King.”
He didn’t get a verbal response but the air around him did grow dramatically colder and he laughed, his breath coming out visible in the sudden chill. “It’s nice to know it’s just you and not someone I have to worry about touching me in my sleep.”
The silence stubbornly remained and Tony’s smile grew a little wider. He didn’t bother looking around, just kept staring straight ahead and hoping he was right. “I’d say it’s nice to see you again, but apparently I’m not that lucky.”
He heard a small puff of breath, a quelled chuckle, and turned to the left. There was nothing and no one beside him, but he felt a warm pressure on his arm before invisible lips were pressing gently against his own. Tony closed his eyes and gently kissed him back, feeling Loki’s hand slide up to lightly cup his neck.
When they pulled apart Loki’s fingers were lightly stroking his skin and Tony sighed softly before opening his eyes. There was still no one in front of him to see, but he could smell his lover; winter air, old books and unidentifiable herbs.
“I hope this means you’re coming back for a bit,” Tony said, but his only response was to feel Loki’s hand slide from his skin. He couldn’t do more than frown unhappily before he heard the sound of Clint shifting and waking up.
He turned automatically to look at him, feeling Loki’s fingers thread through his hair in one, gentle motion, before the awareness of his magic and the weight of his hand disappeared with only a soft breeze to show the disruption.
Clint gave a groan of waking and grumbled, “Why the fuck did I take on this job?”
Tony just smiled a little sadly, absently quipping something back, but his heart wasn’t in it.
His heart could be found who knew how many miles away where Loki was trying, just like Tony was, to save them all from certain doom. His heart belonged to a man and a mage that no one knew Tony was having a relationship with in the few moments that they could spare.
Looking down at his arm, Tony ran his hand over the perfect bandage, the work of steady hands determined to protect him. It made Tony feel a little less weary about this trek across a planet.
It also made Tony fight down a laugh when Loki revealed himself three hours later in sparkles and sarcasm. He saved all their asses and winked at Tony while he was doing it. He then complained and belittled them and told them he’d been sent by Thor.
And when Loki kissed him again, it was in the middle of the night and with spells to hide them from the others. He was gone the next day, but every one of them had been healed of every wound they’d sustained in battle.
The one’s Tony had gained from Loki’s mouth and his strength, well, obviously they stayed.