Chapter Text
Prologue
Life was good; in fact it was better than good – it was perfect. After months and months of wooing, of taking things at a tortoise's pace, Tony Stark had finally gotten Miss Virginia "Pepper" Potts into his bed over a week ago; and what only sweetened the pot, was the fact that he was being permitted the honor of performing cunnilingus on Miss Potts at that very moment.
The melodic, siren-like sounds that poured from Pepper's lips, was like music to his ears. He poured every bit of knowledge he had of the female anatomy, not to mention his previous experiences, into making it as pleasurable for Pepper as humanly possible.
Considering it took a decent amount of convincing for her to even allow him to do this; he wasn't about to be a disappointment, and reveled into the way her body was reacting to him. She convulsed above him, crying out in a way that he knew meant she was drawing close; which, in turn, only fueled his actions further.
Just as he found a winning combination, the moment came to an abrupt halt. The door to his bedroom was suddenly thrown open with a bang, and caused Pepper to tense up in horror rather than pleasure. Tony paused in his ministrations, eyes wandering to Pepper's face that was beet red and frozen in terror.
"Happy Birthday for the next five years," James Rhodes suddenly declared. "Whenever you aren't busy, you should take a look. It's the white envelope on your desk."
As abruptly as James had made his presence known, he just as quickly disappeared back into the common room. Or wherever he'd chosen to disappear to, after his impromptu appearance; Tony didn't necessarily care where he went, but for god's sake he destroyed the moment; demolished it into itty-bitty pieces even.
Pepper let out a wail, before shoving his head away unceremoniously. He groaned but willingly sat up, in order to avoid a knee to the face; since Pepper all but fled to the adjoining bathroom, while grabbing onto pieces of clothing off the floor as she went.
The bathroom door slammed shut, leaving Tony in a state of confusion for the briefest of moments. He massaged his jaw that had gotten stiff, while in the middle of his attempt to please Pepper, and turned around to glimpse at his desk.
There was a white envelope as James had said on the top of his messy desk. But rather than investigate what he'd been gifted with; he chose instead to walk the distance from his bed to the bathroom door. Because really it would have been downright insensitive, if he let his curiosity get in the way of comforting Pepper in her time of need.
"Pepper, baby," he called out, gently rapping on the doorframe. "It's okay; you know how James can get. He doesn't understand the meaning of privacy; not after he spent three years out in the jungle, shitting side by side with his fellow soldier."
Tony didn't receive an answer, beyond the sound of running water. Then again, he hadn't expected for Pepper to be chatty after the trauma she'd been subjected to. She was highly sensitive and innocent; which was why it had taken so long to convince her into bed with him.
"Baby, it's okay. I promise you, he won't say a thing." He continued, only to receive a terse go away for his troubles.
Knowing it would be almost impossible to lure her out, Tony decided to let her have a moment to herself before he manually attempted to weasel his way into the other room. And it would probably be beneficial to have a word with James about boundaries again.
Truth be told, Tony really hadn't any use for privacy. He was fine with James coming and going as he pleased; and he had barged in before while Tony had been balls deep in his flavor of the month before. But this time around was different; he didn't want to blow his chances with Pepper. She was different and he just so happened to really like her, comparably to the previous girls he bedded.
"Come out soon, babe." He said against the door softly. "I want to talk about it. I don't want you to hide from me, okay?"
Reluctantly Tony withdrew from his spot with an exasperated sigh, before walking towards his desk. Several textbooks were thrown open, and his chicken scratch was visible in the margins where he'd chosen to add his insight on nuclear physics.
But it wasn't like he had any need for such generic reading material anyway; he already was well-versed in most of the classes he'd enrolled in. He already had two master degrees; one in engineering and business law, the latter pushed onto him by daddy dearest. And well, having another in physics was just to appease his mind, until he finally gotten clearance to join the family business.
He picked up the envelope; the front had James's name written across it, but nothing else to explain what was inside. Slowly he flipped open the flap and reached inside to extract two tickets; more precisely, two concert tickets.
Tony overlooked them once, before his eyes widened in shock. He reread the print on the tickets again, and found that his eyes hadn't been deceiving him after all. James, somehow, had gotten a set of tickets for the hottest show in Los Angeles, and casually dropped them into Tony's lap like it was nothing.
Glimpsing towards the closed bathroom door, Tony weighed the pros and cons of leaving the room. If Pepper came out to find him gone, that could very well blow his chances with her. But on the other hand, he needed to talk to James immediately.
"Baby, I'll be right back!" He called out and practically ran out of his bedroom to find James.
Luckily for him, it wasn't very hard to find James. He was sitting in the common room, watching an episode of the Partridge Family with a stony look on his face. Tony leapt onto the sofa beside him, jarring him, which garnered him an annoyed look.
"First and foremost, thank you for barging into my room like that."
"Hey, I didn't know you had company. Besides, I thought you'd want those right away." James pointed at the envelope in his hand, before he returned his eyes to the TV.
"And that's why I'm out here." Tony explained, before taking both tickets out of the envelope. "Where the hell did you get these? The show's been sold out for months; and somehow you got a set?"
James rolled his eyes, but was still staring at the television set. There wasn't anything very interesting happening on it; then again, he was watching the Partridge Family. And what could really happen on the Partridge Family beside the usual bullshit of the family being on tour?
"Yesterday there was a contest on the radio; I was the seventh caller and my prize was a pair of tickets for the gig. And I figured you'd get some use out of them; unless you don't want them. I bet I could scalp them for three times their worth." James held out his hand, but Tony quickly pulled away.
"I never said I didn't want them." He defended. "I'm just surprised Hogie didn't telephone me about, you know, sending me to report on it."
"Oh, because you really showcased the guy in the best light the last time,"
"That spread made my career,"
"That's why you're still only a part-time reporter."
"I interviewed Blue Oyster Cult, how dare you!" Tony feigned insult. "Besides, I was given the opportunity to be a full-time reporter, but Howie obviously wants me to educate myself until I become the world's oldest scholar; you know that already."
"So do you want the tickets or not?" James asked, turning to face him fully. "Although, I don't know why I'm even asking; of course you do."
"I have a pair of tickets for the hottest show in town – of course I want them." Tony said with a pang of nostalgia in his voice. "I mean it's been almost five years."
"I think Loki Odinson and Loki Laufeyson are two very different people, brother." James shook his head, looking back at the television once more. "But you are more than welcome to the tickets; I'm not into that glam rock bullshit anyway."
"I'm not either."
"But you'll still be going."
"I'll still be going." Tony admitted, rereading the print on the tickets again. "Thanks, Rhodey."
Slowly he climbed onto his feet and walked back into his bedroom. Pepper was still holed up in the bathroom; although that ended up being the farthest thing from his mind. He was, after all, in possession of two tickets for Loki Laufeyson's Death & Indulgence tour; which had been hailed a global success by Rolling Stone magazine, and every music publication out there.
It would have been foolish on his part, if he actually rejected the tickets. Anyone with half a mind would have leapt at the chance to see the show; and Tony was no different in that respect. Except, there was something else beyond seeing Loki Laufeyson and all his glory; there was a history between them. A history that he never really forgotten, but had simply put on the back burner.
Five years ago, Tony had had the privilege of going on tour with Odin's Sons; the same band that bred one of England's well know glam rock singers, Loki Laufeyson. But he hadn't only written a successful article about them; Tony had been madly, stupidly even, in love with Loki back then.
"We've got five years, huh?" He whistled lowly. "Guess you're coming for me after all, Laufeyson."