Work Text:
Break My Heart, It’s Fine
"Will you lie to me?" He gasped out, attempting a smile and falling short. His grip was slipping on the leather coat. "Tell me I'll be okay."
"I..." Loki swallowed, "I can't."
"I thought," he drew in a shaky, rasping breath. "I thought you were a God of Lies, come on."
"No," Loki shook his head, lips twisting in pain. "Don't ask me to."
Tony chuckled but it hurt and Tony knew his chest must be a mess, mangled, impossible to repair, if Loki had looked at it and hadn't even tried. Knew he was done for if it was enough to have Loki dropping to his knees and letting tears form in his eyes.
"Why not?" Tony attempted humor again. He always knew he'd go out in a blaze of glory, might as well keep smiling to the end as well. "I've always," he grimaced and clenched his fist in pain. Loki's hand closed over it instantly and Tony felt a wave of something numb washing over him, blocking out the agony and making his thoughts clearer and easier to navigate. "Ha," he wet his lips, probably with blood based off the way Loki couldn't watch him. "Thanks."
Loki snarled but it sounded choked. "Do not thank me."
"Hey," it took effort but he lifted his hand. Loki quickly bent down, letting Tony brush his cheek. "I'll always thank you." Loki shook his head. "No. You showed me magic. You came to our side. You taught me how to better catch your lies. You were such a bad influence on me." He grinned as wide as he could and though he was without pain he could still feel the darkness gaining on him. "You were a great friend, Loki."
"Stop it," Loki hissed, bending close and burying his forehead against Tony's neck. Breathing harshly into Tony's collarbone and carefully wrapping his arms around the other, making sure not to disrupt him.
"Don't stop being a good guy, okay?" Tony whispered, moving his hand and ignoring the shaking so he could stroke the other’s hair. "Don't, don't waste all you built up, alright? The universe is going to need you." He smiled shakily and tried not to think about the others, about Pepper and JARVIS and everyone he'd leave behind. "Everyone's going to need you. Without me, you're gonna be the smartest guy around, you-"
"Stop," Loki half-yelled, half-begged and Tony did, blinking as the curtain of hair disappeared and Loki was looking at him, red-rimmed eyes and quivering mouth.
"Loki?"
Loki brought trembling hands up to cup his face before pressing their foreheads together. His eyes slipped closed. "Don't," he hissed, "Don't leave me alone with your pathetic friends on this stupid planet."
"Come on, Loki," he cajoled, "you said you liked some parts of Midgard."
"No," Loki murmured, "I hate this place and those idiotic people."
"But-"
"I love you."
Tony blinked, unable to process the pained confession before lips were pressed gently and lovingly against his own.
Tony's jaw would have dropped with shock if Loki's thumb wasn't pressed against it, holding it in place. It could have lasted eons for all that Tony knew, too stunned to do anything but feel those soft lips caress his own. They weren't taking or even requesting his participation, but rather holding on and transferring a world's worth of love in one gesture.
When Loki pulled back, Tony could only stare at his friend, his chest feeling trapped in a vice as blackness clawed at his vision.
"Loki..." Tony whispered.
Loki was breaking; Tony could see it happening before his eyes. "Lie to me," Loki pleaded back, "tell me you'll be okay. Tell me you could have loved me as well."
Tony went to open his mouth, not sure what would even come out but Loki pressed long fingers to his mouth and Tony watched tears slide down the other's cheeks, landing on the mess that was once his chest and Tony felt his own eyes start to sting. "Tell me," Loki swallowed, "tell me I can live without you."
"Loki," Tony breathed out, and with all the strength he had left, he reached for Loki, and Loki let himself fold back down until Tony could press his chilling lips back against the demi-God's. Tony forced his eyes open to catch that green gaze as he murmured against that desperate mouth. "Don't follow me. Don't do something stupid, don't," he pressed another forceful kiss against Loki's lips, "don't think I didn't love you too."
Loki let out a choked whimper of pain and cradled him close. It was the last sound Tony heard before his eyes finally dropped shut and his mind was swept away to darkness. Loki soundlessly snarled and a protective windstorm of magic abruptly roared into existence around them.
He carefully grasped Tony, pulling him up with failing hands until he could wrap himself around the mortal now in his lap. Loki held tight to the most precious person to him in all the realms, his face half-buried and his tears lost in Tony’s soft, spiked hair.
He hissed out a wounded sound before biting out the angry, hated word against the other’s temple - filling it with all the rage and grief and heartbreak that powered the storm around them.
"Liar."