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Most people were surprised when they found out that Tony Stark liked to cuddle. Many thought of him as the inventor who kept to himself in his workshop, working for days at a time without any social interaction. Even though they were mostly right, Tony did need company from other people from time to time. He especially enjoyed snuggling on the couch with someone and being held. He was the type of person who frequently sought out touch.
However, no one had been in his tower for days and he was starting to feel lonely. Rhodey was away for Air Force duties and Pepper was on a business trip that Tony didn’t feel like attending. That left him all alone with only the company of his bots. That didn’t mean that Tony didn’t like his bots, he really loved them, but he wasn’t able to cuddle with them. He supposed that he could try cuddling with DUM-E, but metal was cold and it most likely wasn’t feasible. He had to try to find an actual human to snuggle with him instead.
After a few minutes of thought, Tony realized that they didn’t have to be human. There were other options. He wasn’t sure if it was lack of sleep or desperateness that caused him to make such a stupid choice, but he decided to summon a demon. Since there were no humans around, Tony had to look elsewhere. He had never summoned a demon before, but he wasn't scared and thought that he could give it a shot. So far, no one had died directly from contacting one. The only people who died later on were the ones stupid enough to include that in their deals.
It wasn’t hard for Tony to figure out how to summon a demon, he was a genius. He only had to arrange candles in a certain pattern and repeat a phrase in an old language. Tony thought that it was strangely easy to do it, which probably wasn’t a good thing. He was sure that most people were not smart enough to make a deal that wouldn’t harm them.
When Tony completed the ritual, a cloud of green smoke appeared in the middle of the living room of his penthouse. After a few moments, the smoke vanished, revealing the demon. The demon looked surprisingly… human. He was tall and thin with long black hair that provided a striking contrast against his pale skin. He also wore a neat and slim black suit that fit his frame perfectly. The only part of him that looked inhuman were his eyes, which glowed emerald green. The demon was absolutely beautiful.
“Hi,” Tony said, too stunned to say anything else.
“Hello. What do you seek?” the demon asked. His voice was smooth and accented and Tony wanted to keep him talking.
“What’s your name?” Tony asked.
“Loki,” he replied.
It was a lovely name. Tony had never heard anything like it. He found himself wanting to know more about the demon.
“What is your request? A bigger home, money, bringing a family member back from the dead, or something else?” Loki asked.
“No, none of that. I have multiple homes and a lot of money.” Tony said.
Loki raised an eyebrow. “You want something more? Do you wish for love? I’m afraid that is an awfully complicated deal.”
“No, not that,” Tony said, shaking his head.
Love would have been nice, but he knew better than to make a deal with a demon for it. The consequences of that had the potential to be horrible.
“Then what would you like, Anthony? Now I am curious.”
Tony honestly didn’t know how to explain what he wanted without sounding like a complete idiot.
“I guess I’m lonely,” was all that Tony said.
“I have hundreds of people trying to summon me and sell their souls to me and you only brought me here because you are lonely,” Loki stated, as if he was trying to believe it.
“Yes?” Tony said, but it sounded like a question even though he didn’t mean for it to.
The demon only stared at him, eyes filled with curiosity. Tony liked being the center of his attention. He wished that he could have predicted how Loki was going to respond to him. Would he help him or would he leave, finding the request to not be worth his time?
Loki furrowed his brows. “This is the first time that someone summoned me because they wanted company.”
“I’m also in need of cuddles,” Tony added, feeling embarrassed. It was rare for him to feel that way, but stating such a silly request to a powerful demon was nerve wracking.
“That is incredibly sad,” Loki noted.
Tony was aware of that, but it still felt like a stab to the chest.
“I don’t think I want to give you my soul, but there has to be something else that you want, right?” Tony asked.
Loki let out an amused laugh. Seeing a demon laugh wasn’t as unsettling as Tony expected it to be. It was actually quite nice; Loki’s laugh sounded like a delightful melody. Tony could tell that Loki didn’t laugh often. If Tony didn’t want to cuddle and be touched by someone so badly, the demon’s laughter would have been enough for him to feel content.
“Do you have any ice cream? It is very hard to get in Hell,” Loki said.
Well, that was unexpected. Tony thought Loki was going to want his first born or something like that, not a dessert.
“Uh, let me go check. I can order some if I don’t have any in the freezer,” Tony told him.
Loki nodded in response and Tony walked into the kitchen in search of ice cream. Luckily, he had some vanilla ice cream stashed in the back of the freezer. He scooped some ice cream into a bowl and handed it to the demon, who was seated and patiently waiting on Tony’s couch.
“Is my soul not appealing or something?” Tony asked as Loki ate his ice cream.
“Souls are readily available. Ice cream is not,” Loki said with a shrug.
“Well, I’m sure my soul is great,” Tony told him, slightly offended that the demon didn’t want it, despite not wanting to give it up.
Loki placed his bowl of ice cream on the end table and stood up, standing only an inch or two in front of Tony. He raised his right hand and stroked Tony’s cheek. Tony leaned into the touch, not being able to stop himself.
“Your soul is wonderful, Anthony,” Loki purred. “Which is why I want you to keep it.” Tony could accept that.
When Loki stepped away, Tony already missed the closeness of his presence. The demon sat down on the couch and ate a few spoonfuls of the leftover melted ice cream at the bottom of the bowl. Tony wouldn’t have been surprised if the demon started licking the bowl.
After Loki finally finished the ice cream he patted the spot on the couch next to him, looking directly at Tony. “Come sit.”
Tony obliged, quickly walking to the couch and taking a seat next to Loki. He immediately wanted to lean into the demon and get as close as he possibly could, but he refrained. He didn’t want to seem too desperate, even though he clearly was.
“I still do not understand why you would want to seek an embrace from a demon like me,” Loki stated.
“Your arms look like they were made to cuddle,” Tony told him. They were much longer than his own and could probably wrap around him easily.
“You did not know what I look like before you summoned me,” Loki reminded him.
“I guess I got lucky, huh?”
Tony took the opportunity to lean into Loki’s side. As soon as he made contact, Loki wrapped an arm round him. It felt nice, but Tony still wanted more. He gently guided Loki’s other arm around him before leaning his head onto the demon’s shoulder. Tony felt at ease for the first time in weeks. Loki’s skin was warm and Tony never wanted to move.
“This is nice,” Tony said quietly. He had wanted this for such a long time.
“I have not done this before,” Loki admitted. Tony felt sad that Loki had never snuggled with anyone before. It was Tony’s favorite thing to do.
“You’re doing great,” Tony told him.
Tony put on a random movie and the two of them cuddled in a comfortable silence. The sound of Loki’s breathing was much more interesting than the movie. Tony was glad to take in Loki’s presence as he felt the touch that he had been craving.
“You can play with my hair if you want,” Tony said, hoping that Loki would.
Loki began to run his hand through Tony’s hair and the genius sighed in relief. It was his favorite feeling and Loki’s slender fingers felt nice against his scalp.
“Is this alright?” Loki asked.
“Perfect,” Tony told him
The demon was absolutely perfect and Tony hoped that he didn’t have to leave soon. He was even better at cuddling than Rhodey was, and he was almost a professional.
“Are you enjoying this?” Tony asked.
He didn’t know why he cared so much about how Loki was feeling. The demon was only cuddling with him because he was holding up his end of their deal. This was only happening because Tony summoned him and requested it.
“Yes. I wish to stay longer, if you will have me,” Loki responded.
“Mmmm sure, as long as you want,” Tony mumbled.
He had not been sleeping well without anyone holding him, so he was already on the edge of sleep. As far as Tony was concerned, he could stay in Loki’s arms forever. He just hoped that the demon would still be there when he woke. Tony didn’t see why Loki would want to leave, cuddles on demand sounded like a brilliant idea to him.