Chapter Text
“You don’t have to do this, Buck. Honestly, we’ll figure out something else,” Steve explained.
“I’m ok with it, really. As long as it’s not gonna bother you too much. But, I can see it is bothering you, so—“
“I don’t love the idea, either, but I can hardly raise any moral objections. I’ve traded sex for things I want for more centuries than you’ve been alive. Just recently with Grandmaster—“
Steve cut him off.
“We don’t need the details, Loki; and besides, that was different. Lives were at risk. This is just playing into some woman’s fantasies. I don’t think she’d tell anyone about us, anyway, even if we didn’t do what she wants.”
“But, Steve, we don’t know for sure. Neither one of us is willing to risk you being outed like that.”
“I say we do it for now, and then we wait to see what effect the cologne thing has on our images. Maybe in a few months, we can start to gradually show ourselves together more,” suggested Loki.
Steve sighed.
“Guess I’m outvoted on this one. If you two feel that strongly about it, you go ahead, but I’m not doing it.”
“Right, then. Guess I’ll go get ready for my date. I told her I’d pick her up at 7:00 sharp. I already put it off twice, so I don’t want to be late,” Bucky announced and headed for the shower.
The bathroom at Steve’s house was not nearly as luxurious as the one at Loki’s, but it was nice enough. Steve had never been big on luxury, though, and even now, when he had more than enough money to be comfortable, he stayed in this relatively modest little house.
A fuck-ton better than those freezing cold cells and group showers I spent seventy years in, though. Can’t exactly complain if there isn’t a magical scented bathtub.
He sighed. He really did love the magical scented bathtub.
When he emerged back into the living room wearing dark blue jeans, white Polo shirt, and a grey sport coat, Steve wolf-whistled and Loki circled around him appraisingly, then sniffed him.
“I do have to admit, that cologne is...effective. I’m getting hard just smelling you. But, then again, you’ve always done that to me,” Loki said, nuzzling his neck.
“Yeah, she insisted I wear it. Don’t get too smug, because you’ll be wearing yours, too, when it’s your turn.”
“You should probably walk out that door right now or we might not let you leave at all. It’s pretty tempting to just bind you to the wall and cut those jeans off with a dagger.”
Bucky huffed and gave each of them a quick kiss.
“Don’t worry. I’ll have plenty of energy left. Never met a woman who could wear me down, even before the serum.”
As soon as he’d walked out the door, Steve shot Loki a sideways look.
“You know this is really uncomfortable for me. I feel like I’m running an escort service.”
Loki shrugged.
“He likes women well enough. It won’t exactly be a hardship.”
“So, it doesn’t bother you that he’s on his way to have sex with someone else?”
“Says the man who sent me a hand-written letter asking me to have sex with him when he knew I was with James,” he snorted.
”You do have excellent penmanship, by the way. Very romantic handwriting.”
“Yeah, after you...um...what would you call it...seduced me? No, that’s not it—tied me up and forced me have sex with you in your sauna—that’s it.”
Loki hooked a finger in Steve’s sweatpants and pulled him forward.
“You weren’t resisting much, were you? All right, then, maybe we should be concerned. Remember what that started. Are you ready to bring in a fourth?”
“Oh, God. With that woman? Don’t even joke about it. Besides, that was different. Buck and I already had history, and by that point, you’d even...ahem...deflowered me, if you’ll recall.”
He raised his eyebrow questioningly and Loki kissed him warmly.
“As if I’d ever forget taking Captain America’s anal virginity. Keep talking about it and I’ll want to do a re-enactment.”
“Mmhm...maybe we should,” Steve whispered, voice low and husky, then stepped back.
“But, we have to wait for Buck to get home to do it right. Want to go grab dinner and then play some blind strip-Jenga? You can always shift your look a little, if you’re worried about me being seen with you.”
*****
It was after 3:00 when Bucky came home exhausted, but he couldn’t help laughing out loud at what greeted him. Loki was sitting on the sofa, head back, legs stretched out, with Steve draped over his lap in a position that didn’t look like it could possibly be comfortable. They were both naked and sound asleep. The naked part wasn’t that unusual, but...
“Oh, my God. Why do I feel like I just got home from Prom and my dads tried to wait up for me?”
Steve’s eyes fluttered open, but Loki’s didn’t, and his head stayed on the back of the sofa as he spoke.
“Well, then, how was your date?”
“Way less weird than this, that’s for sure.”
He strode over to the bar and poured himself a shot of bourbon. Their shot glasses were twelve-ounce tumblers now, because they’d figured out that’s the minimum it took for a brief buzz. He slouched into the big easy chair and chugged half the glass.
“God, it would be nice to be able to get drunk occasionally. So, Cassandra definitely has a thing for bad boys, all right. She was disappointed I wasn’t in full tactical gear and damn near sent me home to change clothes.”
He took another gulp.
“We compromised on me taking off the jacket so everyone could see my arm,” he said, shaking his head.
“I convinced her I really needed a relaxing dinner and a little conversation before...you know. I’m kinda getting more of an idea how women feel sometimes. What’s the word? Objectified? But, I guess I can’t really fault a woman who’s honest about what she wants.”
He stretched and yawned.
“I’m going to bed. You two staying out here?”
He tossed back the rest of his drink and headed into the bedroom, where he shucked his clothes onto the floor and dropped into bed.
“I thought you said you’d have plenty of energy left over, James. Are you really that tired?” Loki asked, a slight edge of annoyance in his voice.
“Yeah. Maybe I’m really feeling my age—she wore my ass out. I already showered at her place, so you two go ahead with whatever you were gonna do.”
He waved a hand and had barely finished his sentence before he was snoring softly.
“Huh. That’s a little disappointing. I’m feeling pretty refreshed after that catnap,” said Steve.
He grabbed Loki by the arm and pulled him into the bathroom, a determined smirk on his face.
“I guess we’ll have to entertain ourselves in the shower.”
”Why, Captain, you’re certainly eager to be clean.”
”If by ‘clean’ you mean eager for you to suck my dick, you’re exactly right,” he murmured into Loki’s ear.
“You don’t fool me, Captain. You just like seeing me on my knees,” Loki teased, turning on the water.
“Mmhm...well, you’re not wrong about that. The blow job is just an added bonus.”
He grinned, stepped into the shower, and leaned back against the tile, his pulse quickening a little and his cock beginning to fill as he watched Loki slide in front of him on his knees like an ice-skater. When did he get so comfortable talking so bluntly about sex? And, how did Loki always manage to look so graceful and feline, no matter what he was doing?
“The blow job is really for me, you know. You’re lucky to have me,” said Loki, his eyes sparkling up at Steve over the growing erection.
He licked a stripe up the shaft and watched it jump at his touch, and it sent a warm surge of energy between his own legs.
“Oh, I know. Bucky was right about that. Sometimes, I do think you could suck my soul right out of me. But, I still can’t believe I let you do it that first time in Athens—in the basement of a pharmaceutical plant, no less. You can tell me and I promise I won’t get mad. Did you use a spell to get me to let you do that?”
Loki rolled his eyes.
“Yes, Steve, I did. A spell called James Buchanan Barnes. Now, stop asking me questions. You know there’s only one thing I’d rather do with my mouth than talk.”
Steve sighed contentedly and ran his fingers through the thick, black hair as he watched the head of his cock disappear between Loki’s lips and the steam swirled around them.
“You know, I always hoped that someday, somehow, Bucky and I could be together, no matter how impossible that sounded. But, how crazy is it that it was you who made it happen?”
Loki hummed his agreement, and it sent waves of electricity up Steve’s spine.
“And, how crazy is it that you and I connected the way we did over Buck, and all the insane stuff that’s happened since then? Sakaar and Vanko and Tony—you know, I still don’t really get that. Why either of you did it.”
One of Loki’s hands slid between Steve’s legs and he automatically spread his thighs apart to give Loki access. He cupped Steve’s balls and squeezed gently, giving him just the right amount of pressure he knew would drive Steve crazy. Or maybe just shut him up. He knew he was rambling a little, but he didn’t care, and he moaned softly as Loki’s eyes met his and that magic tongue teased the underside of his cock.
This—whatever this was with Bucky and Loki—was what he’d dreamt of for so long and never imagined he could possibly really have. The closeness; the easy camaraderie; knowing someone always had your back; and the sex was...well...off the charts, even when it was just normal, like now.
When Loki sucked him in all the way, the back of his head hit the tile wall and he moaned so loudly he thought it might wake Buck.
God, how can he always do that to me? It never fails.
And then, he was lost in the warm suction of Loki’s mouth.
*****
“Morning, Sunshine.”
Steve kissed Bucky on the cheek and carded his fingers through the long, silky, brown hair.
“Man, it’s getting nearly as long as Loki’s. Maybe you can braid each other’s hair,” he teased, as he watched him squint and rub his eyes, then waited for him to sit up and handed him a cup of coffee.
“Why’d you wake me up at the ass-crack of dawn?”
“It’s not dawn; it’s just overcast and it’s one o’clock in the afternoon. You slept almost ten hours. Loki’s gone to some meeting with Pepper—or maybe to be tortured—it was hard to tell which from his expression.”
“And you stuck around to make me coffee. Always a life-saver. Or, were you hoping I’d spill the beans about why I slept so long?” he asked, eyes crinkling over the rim of his coffee mug.
“Actually, no. The less I know, the happier I’ll be. I just wanted to be sure you were ok before I went for a run. I’ve never seen you that tired from a date before. Hey, want to come with me? Get your blood pumping a little?”
Bucky stared at him for a moment, dumbfounded.
“You’re really serious. A run? Hell, no, I don’t want to come with you. I need to take a piss and eat something. I’m starving.”
As he was making waffles, he debated whether he should tell them everything he knew now, and grinned to himself, finally deciding to let them find out for themselves. The sex had been pretty amazing, but that wasn’t even half of it.
*****
Loki’s meeting with Pepper had gone better than expected. He’d been certain she was going to tell him PeeP was dropping the cologne line due to negative comments about James and him, but it turned out to be just the opposite. She was, if anything, even more enthusiastic than the first time she’d talked about the cologne idea.
“It’s only been two weeks, and it’s doing even better than we’d hoped. We want to start production on body wash soon. Are you up for another photoshoot?”
“Are you telling me people are actually buying this stuff? And, why do we need another photoshoot? You aren’t happy with the first one?”
“All three scents are doing quite well. We’re getting requests for you to do meet-and-greets at industry conventions, now. ‘Captain’ is our biggest seller, but both ‘Loki’ and ‘Winter’ are doing nearly as well. We want to roll out the body wash at the World Perfumery Conference in Miami in a few months, and I’d like all three of you there. Tony and I talked it over, and we think the public will be ready soon to embrace the more...identifiable...looks for you and James on the body wash. We want you in full armor with the helmet, and we want him in full Winter Soldier gear.”
Loki stared at her, then shook his head, incredulous.
“On a bottle of body wash...are you certain Tony is ok with this? I did try to kill him, after all, and James—well—you know what he did. Those are the images you want on your bottles of soap?”
“Yes, I’m certain. He’s known you long enough and well enough now to trust that you aren’t the same people you were then, and he’s willing to give you a chance. You know that. And, I know about your little...fling...awhile back, too. So, yes, he’s ok with it. In fact, he told me to remind you you’re all Shield-Brothers now.”
Loki laughed out loud and rubbed the back of his neck, just realizing he’d picked that little mannerism up from Steve.
“That does sound exactly like something he’d say, because he knows how ridiculous this is. He would invoke the Shield-Brother covenant to get me to do it.”
He shook his head and sighed in resignation.
“I’m just glad Odin isn’t around to see this. He’d disown me all over again, and I can’t imagine Thor will be too thrilled, either. What about Steve? No new photos for him?”
“Oh, yes. We’re taking him the opposite direction. Out of uniform and into super-sexy black-tie formal,” she grinned.
“I wanted to tell you first, so you can take it back to them. I know how convincing you can be, Mr. Silvertongue. We’ll schedule it for the middle of next month.”
And, with that, the meeting was over and Loki flashed out, back to Steve’s house to give them the good news. Well...the news. Their reactions were exactly what he’d expected, but they all knew they’d do it, anyway, and he sighed to himself.
Me, in full armor, on a bottle of soap. These humans are such embarrassingly odd creatures.
*****
A week passed uneventfully and it was time for Loki’s “date.” Bucky had been grinning and looking like the Cheshire Cat all day, and Steve raised an eyebrow at him several times. Loki was pretending he didn’t notice. He stepped out of the bedroom in a black suit and tie with a pale green shirt that made his eyes look greener than usual, and Bucky was smiling from ear-to-ear.
“Buck, what in the world has you so excited? I mean, yeah, he looks as good as he always does in a suit, but c’mon...”
“I’ll tell you all about it as soon as he leaves. So, Loki, I can smell your cologne. She’ll love it. Are you teleporting or taking a cab?”
“Why would I ever do anything as mundane as a taxicab?”
“Just curious. You know that’ll impress her even more, so be warned.”
“I’m sure I can handle one slightly over-exuberant redhead. See you soon.”
He flashed out, appeared at Cassandra’s front door, and knocked. Her smile when she opened the door was dazzling, and he crooked his arm for her to take as she gave him the address of the restaurant. He did feel just a little guilty that he hadn’t warned her about the momentary disorientation and nausea some people felt teleporting. But, not too guilty. After steadying herself, she led him down a flight of stairs and knocked on a door. A peep hole opened, closed, and then the door was swung open by a very large man who was smiling widely. He reminded Loki a little of Heimdall.
“Good evening, Ms. Elliot. Your regular table is ready.”
She swept into the room and strode to what Loki assumed was her regular table, and all eyes turned to them as he followed her. There was little attempt at being subtle—they weren’t even whispering.
“Oh, my God, he’s so tall...”
“Gorgeous.”
“He can conquer my world anytime.”
Every table was full and there was a line of people leaning against one wall. He pulled her chair out for her while glancing around, taking in everything he could, and the most notable thing was the large number of people in a room with only one door, no windows, and no other visible exit. He couldn’t imagine James being able to tolerate this.
“How did you keep James from turning on his heel and running out of here?”
“I know something about his history. I only invited half this number of people, and I showed him the other exit through the kitchen before he even sat down. Not to mention the secret underground staircase from when this place was a Speakeasy, and that seemed to satisfy him.”
“Yes, I imagine the secret exit made him very happy,” Loki commented, as a man handed him a wine list.
“All these people were invited, you said?”
“Yes, this is my restaurant. Last week, I invited the President of Bucky’s Brigade and some influential fans of his. This week, it’s all you and Loki’s Army. I’ll introduce you to everyone here. Most of them are in writing, journalism, or public relations. These are the people who are going to help make sure the public sees you as assets and not threats.”
“But why? Why would they bother? That’s what I still don’t understand.”
“You’re a legend, for starters. A god straight out of Norse mythology, like Thor. Vikings are very trendy these days, and you’re very literally one of the originals. James’ arm is a technological wonder, not to mention incredibly sexy; plus, you both have looks, charisma, and tragic backstories, and people can’t resist that.”
He shook his head, still not quite believing it.
“If you say so. Why don’t you just order for both of us? My tastes are eclectic enough; I’m sure I’ll love whatever you choose.”
She nodded.
“Eclectic. Mmhm, yes, I’ve heard that about you. James was so busy talking about you and Captain Rogers, it was hard to get him back on himself.”
“That does sound like him. He doesn’t like to talk about himself.”
The server hovered anxiously for a moment, waiting for Cassandra, but glancing repeatedly at Loki .
“The Riesling and the Rioja for starters, please, Sean.”
When he returned, his hands were shaking nearly imperceptibly as he opened the bottles and went through all the steps of the Midgardian wine ritual. Loki watched closely, as he’d only seen it once in person, and found it fascinating. One corner of Cassandra’s mouth quirked up slightly, noticing Sean’s hand quivering.
“He’s a little nervous, serving the Winter Soldier last week and now Loki of Asgard this week, and I can’t blame him. I felt the same when I first met you—like a giddy schoolgirl.”
Loki couldn’t help but be intrigued. This Cassandra was certainly more mature and sophisticated than the one he’d met at Pepper’s big gala. She’d seemed much more like a bored, wealthy dilettante then.
They made small talk as the rest of the diners slowly went back to their meals and the line of people against the wall drank, talked, and cast surreptitious glances their way. Cassandra ordered their main courses, then focused on him.
“I know you’re wondering what I want out of this besides an evening in bed with the famous magical outlaw.”
He tilted his head questioningly.
“And, what would that be?”
“I’ve been fascinated with you for years—your whole story since before you first came to Earth. Your life before the Battle of New York has been the subject of a lot of speculation and analysis, mostly from information filtered through Thor, and I’d like to know more. A lot of people cried when he told us you’d been killed by that Dark Elf monster.”
“That’s hard to believe. Most of Asgard was relieved. Even Thor, I think, although he’d deny it, now.”
“So, here’s what I’d like from you: I’m putting on a fan convention in a couple of months. Well, not just me, but I’m backing a big part of it, and I’d like you, James, and Steve to make an appearance there all together. When it gets out that you’ll actually be there, we’ll have people beating down the doors to get in.”
“Fan convention? I don’t follow.”
“The First Annual LOKICON. It’s what you’d call a festival. Food, drink, merchandise; thousands of people coming to see you, hear you speak, take selfies, and just generally celebrate you. And, now, if I have Winter Soldier and Captain America, too, it’s your chance to show the world you’re both part of the team—Captain America’s as well as Iron Man’s. And, it would be one hell of a feather in my cap as as a Public Relations person. And, I want to do that whether we have sex or not. That part’s up to you, too. I told James the same thing.”
Loki was speechless. Thousands of people coming to see him? And James? Steve, he could understand, but this made no sense. Would Tony even allow such a thing? Odin certainly would not have. No wonder James had been grinning all day, knowing this was about to be sprung on him.
“I—I’ll need to speak with the others, including Tony. As I’m sure you’re aware, we are officially in his custody. He’ll be held responsible if anything goes wrong, so we’ll need his blessing. He’s the closest thing Earth has to a King, after all, whether the government acknowledges it or not.”
“What could possibly go wrong? It’s just a lot of adoring fans celebrating together. Now, are you ready to meet all these people who’ve been waiting so patiently for us to finish our dinners?”
Loki was still in a little bit of a daze, but this was the type of thing he excelled at, and he could be on autopilot.
Just pretend you’re at court, meeting dignitaries from other realms.
It was midnight by the time they finished and teleported back to Cassandra’s apartment and she handed him a glass of Aquavit.
“That teleport thing is kind of fun, once you get used to it. Here—I don’t have Asgardian Ale, but I heard you like this.”
After a few minutes of chat, she led him to her bed and sat him down to watch her undress for him. She was just as stunning naked as she had been in her gold gown the first time they’d met, and he pushed everything else out of his mind. This was turning out to be a much better night than he'd expected.
“You know, considering his history, James is not nearly so dark as he’s made out to be most of the time. I thoroughly enjoyed our evening together. He’s handsome, funny, smart, considerate, and...really well-hung.”
"Is that something you'd like me to relay to him?" asked Loki, raising an eyebrow.
“If you like, but my point is you...you’re the one I've been fascinated with all these years. You're why I'm here."
She began unbuttoning his shirt and he let her do it slowly, rather than making his clothes vanish. She ran her hands down his chest, kissed his belly, and undid his Midgardian trousers. As was often the case, he was not wearing underwear, and her warm breath ghosted over his semi-erection.
“You’re not worried you'll be disappointed? They say you should never meet your heroes. Maybe that goes for villains, too.”
She laughed and slid his trousers off onto the floor.
“If what I see is any indication, you couldn’t possibly disappoint me.”
“I’m glad you like what you see, then.”
When she kissed him, he was surprised at how much of an effect she had on him. Until now, this had been nothing more than a silly game—a challenge—but this...this was genuine. She truly liked him—was maybe a little obsessed with him—and was not afraid of him. She was not hoping to curry favor with Thor or Odin or Frigga or even Tony. She wanted him. He wasn’t quite sure what to do with that other than give her everything she wanted, and he kissed her back.
*****
When he teleported home, James and Steve were asleep, but James woke as soon as he arrived and flashed him a huge grin as he sat up in bed.
“So, what do you think?”
“I think you probably got an inordinate amount of entertainment out of imagining how my evening went.”
He crawled into bed and nudged Steve.
“I have a surprise for you. I was able to negotiate a trade. In exchange for you not having sex with Cassandra, she’s willing to accept a new cell phone and you saying a few words and signing autographs at LOKICON.”
Steve’s eye rolls were generally fairly subtle, but this one was not.
“Good to know exactly how much I’m worth. I'm a little hurt that you didn’t throw in at least a couple of goats and a bolt of silk, though.”
“Steve, are you sure you're truly comfortable with this LOKICON thing?” asked Loki, suddenly turning serious.
“As long as Tony’s on board, I’m fine with it. I don’t think we’ll ever get a better chance,” Steve said, putting an arm around Loki’s waist and pulling him in.
“You know how much you both mean to me. Whatever it takes,” he murmured sleepily.
Loki’s pulse raced momentarily, and then he got it under control.
How much you both mean to me? Does he know what he just said?
“Yeah, it’s fine. It’ll be fun,” said Bucky, yawning, and rolled back to sleep.
Loki lay there awake for a long time, his mind swirling with thoughts of what Cassandra had said mixing with thoughts of Steve. He’d always assumed the public feared and despised him (with good reason). But, perhaps enough time had passed since his ill-conceived invasion combined with Lethal Weapon's successful missions under Tony's watch that public sentiment was softening a bit.
He’d also assumed he’d come to care much more about Steve than the converse, and the idea that Steve might actually love him, even a little, started him thinking that the three of them could have a real future together. He didn’t doubt James loved him, and that was enough. He’d been prepared to matter to Steve only because he mattered to James, but, after all the disappointments in his life, the thought of truly being loved by the two people he cared about most was almost overwhelming.