Work Text:
Bucky scoffed. “Laufeyson? No frigging way.”
“He’s got a wild side, I know it.”
“That skinny bastard is wound so tight-”
“He’ll be a lot looser real soon. Give me your measure, I think I left mine on two.”
Bucky slid his tape measure across the piece of drywall to Thor, who started notching the edges where they’d need to cut. This house was one bizarre angle after the next, and the repairs they were doing were some of the most complex they’d ever attempted. When Steve had suggested that they (temporarily) remove the ornate woodwork instead of having to custom-cut every single piece of drywall to fit around it all, Laufeyson had thrown him out of the house. He’d begrudgingly let him return after a week but refused to even speak to him, preferring to conduct all business through Thor.
“I’ve caught him looking. At me, at all of us. He’s a sneaky little thing.”
“Does he know about that?”
“Not yet. Don’t want to scare him off. He’s the kind of guy who likes to think it’s all his idea.” Thor picked up the circular saw. Loki was still puttering around in his backyard three floors below, relocating the perennials that were still viable after nearly a decade of neglect. When he’d had to have a dozen dead or dying trees professionally removed two weeks ago, he’d been visibly upset. Since then, he’d personally taken on preserving any landscaping that was “original” to the house. Thor thought his gardening outfit was ridiculously cute – a grey tee under baggy green coveralls that were shoved into a pair of calf-high rubber boots. The whole thing was topped off with a huge, floppy hat, lest a ray of sunlight actually touch that deadly-white skin. The guy had to be one of the palest people Thor had ever seen. He paused for a minute, wiping his brow and leaning on his shovel, then pulled out his phone.
“We have four, maybe five weeks left here. You think you can seal the deal by then?”
Thor’s phone buzzed in his pocket. When he saw the text from Loki requesting an early-morning meeting tomorrow to review the plans for the third-floor bathroom, he smirked.
“Absolutely.”
----
Thor sat in the trailer that his crew used as a mobile office. For jobs as big as this one, they’d tow it in on Day One and leave it there until they wrapped up. It was climate-controlled, running off a rather noisy generator, and it fit a desk and two chairs, a couch that he’d salvaged practically brand-new from an office reno two years ago, a kitchenette, and its own restroom. Everything a hardworking tradesman could need. Thor had also outfitted it with a huge touchscreen mounted to one wall where he could review plans and walk through 3-D renderings. He was dressed for a client meeting: Tight baby-blue short-sleeved polo, the sleeves straining around his biceps, tight khakis. He checked his phone. Laufeyson had asked to meet at seven, so he had two minutes to pump up a little more. He dropped to the floor for some last-minute push-ups.
He’d made it to eighteen when he heard the knock at the door. He stood up, sniffed under his arms to check that the smell of exertion hadn’t crossed the line into offensive, and gave his dick a few good strokes through his pants to get that looking its best too. Feeling sufficiently swollen, he opened the door.
“Mr Laufeyson, right on time.”
“I’ve told you, it’s Loki. And good morning Thor. Thank you for meeting with me so early.” He was dressed for a day spent in some glamorous downtown office. He’d been a surgeon once, but he’d patented some kind of medical device and made millions in the private sector. A casual navy blue suit, no tie, over a white button-down, and he was carrying a steel tumbler of coffee that smelled a hell of a lot better than the pod coffee that was available in the mobile office. A hint of gold glinted under his collar, matching the heavy gold watch on his wrist. His hair was pulled back, as always. Loki’s long hair had intrigued Thor when they’d first met and that intrigue hadn’t lessened at all. Someone so buttoned-up and straight-laced having a foot-long mane didn’t quite make sense. He never, ever wore it loose either, it was always tucked into a neat little bun at the nape of his neck, even when he was messing around in his yard or trying to stay clear of his crew’s work areas in his house.
Thor stood to the side to let him enter, making sure that he was standing just a bit too close. He pretended to notice something outside and practically felt Loki’s eyes crawl over his body as he passed. He might’ve even inhaled a little deeper.
Go on, take it in, baby. It’s all for you.
Loki walked to the desk and pulled the chair back to take a seat, but when Thor cleared his throat, he turned, his hand resting on the chair.
That was, um, wow. Thor had actually just had a tickle in his throat, but Loki had stopped dead in his tracks. Stopped like he’d told him to stop. And he was still standing there, looking at Thor expectantly.
Waiting to be told what to do.
He gestured toward the couch. “We can review everything here. I have your plans pulled up already.” Thor tapped the screen a few times until the rendering of the third floor bathroom’s future state was displayed. Loki took a seat on the couch and took a sip of his coffee.
Thor felt heat break out across his neck and chest. Oh sweetheart, you’re a good boy, aren’t you? “Now what exactly did you want to talk about? Is this a structural change?”
“Oh no, well, not much of one. I’ve decided to go with a claw-foot tub instead of the built-in. It’s more in line with the character of the place.”
“I thought you didn’t want a ‘fake.’” Thor crossed his arms and leaned against the wall of the trailer, trying not to smirk. God, this guy could be such a delightful pain in the ass.
“I’ve found an authentic one, it’s even older than the house and absolutely beautiful. I’ve had my dealer on the lookout for antiques and it came up at auction last weekend.” Loki paused, then continued, looking apologetic. “The thing is, it’s not a standard size.”
Of course it wasn’t. Thor stood at the screen, trying to calculate how far back this would set them. If the tub was going to sit above the floor, they’d need to tile under it. Loki’s tiles weren’t the kind of bland crap you could just grab at a Lowe’s, so at least two weeks for more of that to come in. He was sure that this nonstandard-size tub would have nonstandard piping and require a completely different faucet and knobs, which would have to be ordered from yet another specialty shop…
“This will probably extend the timeline a bit, you know.”
Loki waved his hand like he was shooing an annoying insect. “I’ve told you repeatedly, my goal is not to have this done quickly. It’s to have it done correctly. If we’d gone with that built-in tub, I would’ve regretted it immediately and probably called you back in a few months to rip it out. This is what should be there.”
“Do you have a picture of this amazing tub?”
“Yes, I emailed it to you right before I came. It should be sitting in your inbox.”
Thor took a seat beside him on the couch. “Why don’t you pull it up on your phone right now?”
Loki looked a little taken aback by how close Thor was sitting. Good. “Em yes, sure.” He pulled out his phone and started scrolling through his photos. When he found the tub, Thor leaned in closer, resting his arm along the back of the couch. He could smell Loki’s cologne, or maybe it was his hair products. Light, fresh, and sort of woodsy. Piney. He smelled like winter. His ear was right there, perfect, so kissable, so biteable.
Thor let his eyes drop to Loki’s phone, and he had to admit, he was one hundred percent correct about the tub. It was miles better than what they’d planned or any of the other options he’d shot down. It would also complicate the hell out of the job. Shorter, narrower, and shallower than any modern tub would be, standing at least three inches off the ground on gold-leafed legs.
“Those feet, what are they?”
“Oh, they’re the best part. They’re eagle talons wrapped around little globes, hold on, I have a close-up of them.” Loki started flipping through more pics of the tub. He got to a picture of one of the feet then accidentally scrolled one past it.
Something flashed on the screen. Thor wasn’t quite sure what it had been, but there’d been a lot of very pale skin in it. Loki jerked in his seat and pulled his phone away from Thor. “Sorry, em, sorry.” Oh my. Whatever it was, Loki was flustered. He was turning pinker by the second.
Thor asked, in his most gentle, most understanding voice, “Was that something I wasn’t supposed to see?” Tell Daddy sweetheart. Tell me what you did.
“I apologize for that, em, I’ll just send the photo to you once I’m at work.”
“Okay, whatever you think is best.” He reached out his thumb and touched the back of Loki’s shoulder. Didn’t do anything, just let it rest there. You can trust me.
Loki sat motionless. He didn’t bolt, he didn’t stammer out any more apologies. Just sat. So Thor moved his thumb, stroked one inch up, then one inch down. Barely anything. But deliberate. I’m touching you and I know it and I know you know it and you’re letting me do it and you know I know that–
“I should go.” Loki stood up abruptly. He was even more flushed and wouldn’t meet Thor’s eyes. “I’ll send you that picture. Thank you for meeting with me.”
“Sure, of course.” He let his voice slide down a bit deeper. Rougher. “I always enjoy talking to you.”
Loki was struggling, and as much as Thor wanted to sweep him into his arms, he knew that going in hard would spook him and probably ruin everything. “I… also enjoy…,” What the hell had been in that pic? “Thank you for meeting with me.” He turned and was out the door before Thor could even stand up.
Thor sank back into the couch. Holy shit. That had gone exceptionally well. He tried to put together what he’d seen in the pic. His glance had been so quick, but it had definitely been Loki’s naked body. Nobody else was that pale. His boy was taking selfies, or somebody was taking pictures of him.
He stood and looked out the trailer’s tiny window just in time to see Loki’s black Benz peel out of the driveway. As it disappeared in a swirl of the construction dust that had settled over the entire property, Thor congratulated himself on his self-restraint. Taking his time and putting in the work had paid off in spades. As delightful as it was to discover that he was sharing nudes, he stumbled upon something far more important: Loki had listened to him without pausing, without even thinking. He’d obeyed.
----
It was four days until Thor saw Loki again. He was obviously leaving extra-early for work and staying late to avoid him. Good. Let him build him up in his mind as some kind of threat. It’d make it so much sweeter when he finally got his hands on him.
The tub had come in, and Loki was there to inspect it. He stood opposite Thor, grimly watching the delivery people carry the crate out of the truck, pry off the support boards, then unbox the thing. Thor didn’t know what he was hoping to see – Loki flying into a rage that it had gotten damaged en route, or elated that another gorgeous, historically accurate treasure had made it to the crumbling gothic mansion that he was painstakingly restoring to its former glory. His fury was truly something to behold, white-hot and terrible, and watching him go scorched-earth on someone other than his crew would be a bit of a treat. But a happy Loki was a relaxed Loki, and relaxed was right down the road from receptive.
Thankfully, that was what he got. After the box was dismantled, the tub stood shining in the sunlight, nearly perfect. There were a few dings in the porcelain, but that was to be expected from something that predated half the country. Those clawed feet were even more impressive in person. The whole thing had been polished to shining before it had been shipped, and the gold leaf sparkled. He squatted next to the tub to get a better look at one of the feet, then looked up when he felt Loki’s eyes on him.
“The picture didn’t do this justice.”
The smallest, subtlest smile appeared on Loki’s face. “They rarely do.”
Thor stood. Goddamn, was he flirting? Was that about the selfie? It was, it had to be. Relax. “You were right, this is a hell of a piece. You sure you want to hide it all the way up on the third floor?”
“That’s where all the best things will be.”
The only things up on three were the fourth bathroom and two smaller, awkward bedrooms that were being re-combined into a single. The master bed and bath were on the second floor, as were three additional bedrooms and a guest bathroom. Thor had assumed that the third floor would barely be used at all. He had a clear idea of what he’d do with a private space like that, and Loki’s little smirk told him that maybe, maybe, he had similar ideas.
Are you building yourself something special up on three? A private spot for the best things?
Are you building yourself a playroom, baby?
Jesus christ, his dick perked right the fuck up at that thought. Thank god he was wearing his work pants. “I’m gonna take some pics and measurements of this thing and then I’ll add it to the rendering so we can talk through any changes we’ll need to make. Will you have some time later to walk through those with me?”
He heard Bucky snort out a laugh in back of him.
Loki’s smile vanished. “I’m heading into the office now, and I’ll be late again tonight. Please just email me. I’ll reach out if I have questions.”
Oh, well that was disheartening. “Sure. I’ll look out for any messages.”
Loki gave him a curt nod, turned to the delivery guys to tell them that Thor was in charge, then he was gone.
----
His crew had explicit instructions to leave a few of the house lights on when they left for the day, so Loki really would’ve had no reason to expect that Thor was still in there.
“Oh! Oh I em, I thought you were done here for the day. I saw your truck out front and assumed you were in your office.”
Thor looked up from the tangle of wires between his feet. He was squatting over the handiwork of a few generations of men who’d obviously had little grasp of “safety” or “building codes.”
“Yeah, I’ve been putting off addressing the electric up here. Once I got started, I kinda lost track of time.” The third floor had essentially been abandoned by its previous owner, so it had missed a few decades’ worth of electrical upgrades. The rotting coating over the wires was cracking off in dry, powdery clumps. It was a wonder the whole place hadn’t burned down when they’d first flicked on the lights. Now that the sun had set, the only illumination was from the utility lamp on the floor. Loki was a dark shadow against the stairway behind him, a glowing ember in his hand.
“I hope you don’t mind,” Loki inclined his head toward the joint, “I came up here to relax a little.”
“Not at all. You okay if I finish up here?” Thor was cursing himself for not hearing Loki coming. He could’ve been lifting something heavy, wiping a sweaty brow, holding a big ol’ phallic-as-hell drill in his hand; instead he was hunched over a pile of disintegrating plastic and frayed wires.
“Of course.” Loki walked through the roughed-in frame of the new room, passing through the beam of light from the lamp, then let the tarp drift closed behind him. He was wearing what prissy little things like him referred to as “loungewear,” shit that cost three times as much as most people’s actual clothing that was meant for just laying around the house. A long-sleeved waffle-weave white tee that hugged his upper body with baggy green and black flannel pants and his gardening wellies. Loki had gotten used to living in a construction zone and wore those boots everywhere in the house, which Thor found insanely charming.
His hair was loose.
It was too much.
He called through the wrinkled flap of tarp over the doorframe, “Lo… ki.” Shit, he’s almost called him by the nickname he’d bestowed on the Loki-shaped vision that had thrashed under him the last thirty or so times he’d jerked off. Every night (and most mornings), he’d fantasize about making Loki’s plans for the third floor very, very real. “Can we talk for a minute?”
There was a pause, so long that he wondered if Loki had heard him. He was about to repeat himself when he heard “Yes” through the tarp.
No time to drop into a few pushups, but his dick was chubbing up on its own quite nicely. Thor drew himself up to stand tall, flexing across his back, through his shoulders, down his arms, across his chest. All for you, baby. All for you.
He brushed the tarp aside and walked through, fully aware that he was now backlit and that he (to put it mildly) looked fucking incredible coming through that doorway. Loki was on the far side of the room, sitting on a pile of lumber beside a window that he’d cracked open a few inches, silhouetted by moonlight.
Thor crossed the room slowly. He was still wearing his toolbelt, and he jammed his thumbs into it. I’m your tradie, baby, I’m what you need. There was no need to rush this, Loki was being receptive, accommodating. He turned and blew a plume of smoke out the window.
“Did you get a chance to look at the revised mockup?”
“Yes. I thought I sent a reply with my approval.”
“Must’ve missed that.” An obvious lie, one they were both going to ignore. Thor responded to work-related texts or emails within minutes. “I have to say, I’m enjoying this job. It’s great working with someone who knows what he wants.”
When Loki took another puff of his joint, his face was illuminated for a moment. Good god he was gorgeous. “It’s a pleasure working with someone who can actually deliver it.”
You bet I can, beautiful. “Can I get a hit off that?”
“Don’t you need to drive home?”
No time like the present. “Do I?”
Thor stepped into Loki’s space, plucked the joint out of his hand, and took a hit. He was looking up at him from under a lock of black hair that had fallen into his face. Thor reached down and tucked it behind his ear, gently stroking its outer edge. “Do you really want me to go home? I’ll leave now if you want me to leave, but I think it might be good if I stayed.”
Loki abruptly pulled away from his hand and drew his arms around himself. “I know what this is. I’ve known enough men like you in my life. So stop it.”
“Men like me? Baby, what-”
“Don’t call me baby.” Loki dropped his eyes to his lap. “There’s no need to pretend this is anything other than what it is.”
“What do you mean?”
“You see me, someone who’s lonely, maybe. Who’s alone. And you figure, why not be a tease? Why not pretend to be interested, maybe string him along for a little while, get your ego stroked while you laugh about him with your friends.” Loki looked up at him, and in the moonlight, the challenge on his face was unmistakable. “Let him make a fool of himself while he burns through his money on some vanity project, because he’s too starry-eyed to notice that everything costs twice as much and takes three times as long as it was supposed to. I know your team talks about me, I see them sniggering every time I change the plans, I know what they think-”
Thor was getting offended. “No, that’s not it at all-”
“And then there’s you. I don’t know what you’re angling for, maybe just trying to get me more riled up, or maybe you think I’m so desperate that I’d… that I’d do things for you. You’re always showing off, sitting too close, smiling at me and looking at me, trying to make me believe-”
Offended ratcheted up to pissed. In one swift movement, Thor pulled him to standing and shoved him backward into the wall. “You think I’m pretending?” He held him pinned with one hand while he snuffed out the smouldering joint on the windowsill with the other. Loki was staring wide-eyed. He brought his mouth to his ear and nipped it. To his surprise, Loki didn’t struggle at all, just stayed right where he held him. He glanced down and saw that he was hard. Should I?
Hell yes you should.
“I’m not doing this for any reason other than I’ve wanted to fuck you from the moment I laid eyes on you.”
A small, plaintive whimper escaped Loki’s mouth.
“Couple of things you should know. I’m gay as fuck. Bucky and Steve have been dating for years. Does that clear up anything for you?” He closed the gap between their bodies, crushing his pelvis into Loki’s and bracing his other hand against the wall. “You think you’re in charge here because you hired me, don’t you? I have news for you Lo. My little outfit does quite well for itself. I’m not here for your money, I don’t give a shit how many stars you give me. I don’t need this job, I took this project on because it’s going to be fucking beautiful.”
He nipped Loki’s ear again, then whispered into it. “I don’t think you want to be in charge though. Not with me. I see you, what you are, what you want. I see you clearly, beautiful.” He ran his free hand through Loki’s hair. It was heavy, thick, and it still smelled faintly of pine. He wanted to bury his face in it. “Beautiful,” he repeated, smoothing it back down. “This isn’t a joke, not for me. Now turn around.”
“What-”
“Turn. Put your hands on the wall.”
Loki started to protest but Thor cut him off before he got a full syllable out. “Turn around and stick your ass out for me. You want to, I know you do.”
Slowly, shakily, Loki turned. He placed both palms on the wall and arched his back a little.
“Baby, if I’m gonna spank you,” Loki’s breath caught in his throat, just like he’d known it would. “You’re gonna have to give me more than that to work with.”
“You’re going to spank me?”
“Yep. I need you to understand how wrong that little story you’ve been telling yourself is. The thought of you believing all that is infuriating. Now bend over.” Loki bent at the waist, pushing his ass out, right into Thor’s straining erection. “You feel that, sweetheart? Does that feel like I’m faking anything to you?”
“No.”
“No what?”
“No… Sir?”
Close, but no cigar. “No baby. You call me Daddy while I do this to you, understand?” Loki nodded into his chest. Damn, he looked so humbled already. What a sweet little lamb he was. Thor laid a hand on one of those perfect buttocks. So firm, so nice. He hooked his thumb into the waistband of Loki’s pants and hitched them down to the tops of his thighs, feeling them catch on his straining erection before it popped free to bob in the air.
“How do you want it?”
He swallowed then stammered, “I don’t know. Whatever you think is good.”
That’s right. He ran his hand over Loki’s bare ass. Smoother, tauter than he’d even imagined. “You wanna cry a little?” Loki didn’t respond, though he was trembling.
He gave him a quick smack on the ass, and when Loki jumped, he cupped his right cheek, squeezing hard and wedging his hand into his cleft. He could feel that nervous little hole clenching against the webbing between his thumb and first finger. The tips of his first and middle fingers were resting on his perineum, and he started some exploratory rubbing. Loki clamped his legs together and gasped.
“Do you wanna cry a little? I need an answer, baby.”
Loki’s head dropped even further, and he gave him a humiliated, tiny nod. Oh, he needed this so badly. It’d probably been a long time since he’d been unwound properly. It fucking hurt Thor’s heart that nobody was taking better care of such a perfect submissive. Thor gave him a few deeper rubs as a reward, and his body opened for him, right in his hand. The muscles that had been straining against him went slack, and Loki sank back into him.
Your selfies are for me now, your guy’s obviously fucking useless.
He laid a hand on Loki’s lower back, giving it a little push to arch him even further, then struck him, again wedging his hand into the channel of his ass. Not nearly as hard as he could, but enough to cross the line into pain. Loki bit back a yelp.
Thor dipped his hand lower to rub him again. “You can make noise, we’re far enough away from your neighbors. I want to hear you.” He hit him again, a little harder. Loki again bit it back, barely making a sound through his clenched teeth. You need it, trust me.
He pulled his arm back and brought it down with some real force behind it, the kind of blow he’d maybe deliver to someone as big as Steve or Bucky if they were begging for it. And Loki broke. He shrieked, knees buckling. Thor caught him by his waist.
“You okay? That was pretty f’in hard right there.”
“I, I…”
“Take a few seconds to breathe.” Loki obediently started trying to slow his breathing down, though he was still gasping and trembling. Perfect. Perfect perfect perfect. “I won’t hit you that hard again, okay?”
“Can you… please…”
Thor ran his hand over Loki’s right buttock, the only one he’d struck so far. It was hot to the touch. “Please what baby?”
“Please more.”
“More like that?”
“Yes. Yes Daddy.” His voice was barely audible. He was so embarrassed and Thor was so proud of him. Asking for what he wanted, not taking the easy way out, and embracing the humiliation. Oh, he was something special.
“That’s my good boy. Now you make all the noise you want. There’s a half mile of red maples between us and your closest neighbor, nobody’s gonna hear you but me.” He pulled his hand back and hit him again. Right cheek. Loki screamed. Again and again, always on the right. Concentrating that pain. His cries were long, loud, and deliciously desperate. He kept his other hand under Loki’s left hip to steady him when he stumbled.
After twenty or thirty more hard spanks, Thor’s fingers were numb. He paused again, resting his hand on Loki’s ass. Heat was coming off his skin in waves. “How are you doing, sweetheart?”
Loki didn’t respond. His forehead rested against the wall and he was panting into it, raw and ragged. Though he knew it was mean, ignoring a direct question wasn’t going to fly. Thor pinched his right cheek, and Loki howled in pain.
“I asked you a question. How are you doing?”
Loki spoke, stuttering and gasping his way through it. “I’m okay, I’m okay. I’m sorry.”
“I’m sorry who?”
“I’m sorry Daddy.” His voice was thick, and he was starting to sniffle. It was coming.
“What are you sorry for?”
“For not answering-”
Aww. “No baby. I just bent you over and beat that little bottom something fierce. Why did I have to do that to you?”
He heard Loki swallow and make a soft little gagging noise. Here we go, here we go–
“Because I thought you were lying.”
In his softest, tenderest voice, Thor said, “What did you think I was lying about, Lo?”
“That you liked me.”
Loki barely got through the “me” before Thor pulled him upright and spun him around in one move. He tucked his head into his chest, almost fully supporting his weight as he collapsed into him, weeping. His lounge pants were still sitting at mid-thigh, and Thor fought the urge to touch or even look down at the dick that was pressed against him.
“It’s okay, it’s okay, let it out baby, let it all out. That’s all over, right? I think we understand each other now.” Thor was stroking Loki’s hair, and when he felt tears wetting the front of his t-shirt, he had to suppress a groan. “You were so brave and strong, that was a really hard spanking and you took it so well. Daddy’s proud of you.” That brought on a fresh wave of sobs. Praise kink. Good to know.
Thor felt his anger rising again and tried to tamp it down. That undeserving asshole who was getting Loki’s selfies was doing an absolute shit job. This had to be weeks, maybe months of pent-up, unfed need. He stood holding and gently shushing Loki until his crying subsided. His breathing evened out and he gradually started to support himself again, though he was still sniffling.
“You okay there?”
“Yes. Yes.” He could hear his struggle in his voice – to put himself back together, to regain his composure, to make sense of what had just happened. “I’m okay.” He started to tug his pants up, and Thor moved his hands away.
“Let me take care of that, okay?” Loki nodded into his chest and let Thor put him back together, looking like a fresh wave of tears was about to start. When he closed his hand around his cock, he gasped, but Thor simply tucked it back into his pants. Loki leaned into his chest with a moan.
Thor tried to stop from getting caught up in his own thoughts. You deserve someone who takes care of you. Your asshole boyfriend should be doing this as much as you need it, and it feels like you need it every fucking day. This is about Loki, stay focused, stop thinking about his useless, lazy, incompetent-
Chill the hell out, damn.
Thor willed his mind to clear. He put a finger under Loki’s chin and softly tipped his face up so he could make sure that he was alright. “Okay. Now I want you to go get ready for bed. Brush your teeth, blow your nose, wash your face. I’m gonna wrap up what I was doing when you came up here, then I’ll be down to tuck you in.”
“I’m not a child.”
“Good, because I have a pretty strict adults-only policy for my dick.” Loki looked confused for a moment, then laughed. It was small, but it was a laugh. He was smiling, that was good. “It’ll take me about five minutes to straighten out the mess I made in the hallway. Pop a few ibuprofen, and If you have any arnica gel, put some on your rear. You are going to bruise up something fierce.” He stroked the side of Loki’s face. His eyes looked heavy. Poor thing was exhausted. “You got that?” Loki nodded. “Then go on, and don’t you even think about touching yourself before I get down there.”
Loki obediently turned and shuffled out of the room, favoring his left side. Not the confident, graceful swagger that he’d gotten used to seeing. It’ll be back though, and now that he’s all straightened out, it’ll be even better.
Thor bagged up all of the ancient wire he’d yanked out of the wall, packed his tools back into his toolbox and removed his belt, and moved everything to the far end of the hallway. He kept his worksites neat. Though it drove his crew crazy, they (eventually) acknowledged that an organized site that wasn’t littered with random tools and clutter saved them far more time than it took to straighten up at the end of each day. He stopped in the darkened bathroom to take a piss, wash his hands, and splash some water on his face, practically buzzing with excitement. When he caught his reflection in the mirror, lit from the utility lamp, he smiled at himself. It had been a hell of an evening already. Even if all he got was a kiss goodnight, this was progress, progress toward something more than a one-night stand with his glamorous employer. Maybe.
He shut off the lamp, descended the stairs, and walked down the hallway to Loki’s room. That and the master bath had been the first rooms they’d renovated, but he hadn’t seen either since Loki had signed off on the work a month ago. The doors to each were always kept closed and shrouded behind more tarp to limit the amount of dust seeping in. Now, the tarp was pulled back and the bedroom door stood cracked open a few inches. The light emanating from the room was dim.
He pushed the door open. Damn, his boy had been busy. The built-in shelving that had taken a full two weeks of Steve’s time was now lined with books and odd little knickknacks. Scattered among the books and tchotchkes was a collection of 3D models of hearts; some were obvious antiques carved from wood or marble, there were a few traditional doctor’s office models in colored plastic, one was a cubist sculpture in soft pink lucite, and one unsettlingly realistic one was coated in gold.
Loki was already under the covers, but the look on his face was far from restful. He looked upset. A drop was nothing unexpected; he’d gone really hard on him, the rush must’ve been pretty intense. Time to daddy this little angel up.
Thor crossed the room and sat down on the bed. He started rubbing Loki’s thigh through the covers. “Hey, you feeling alright?”
Loki nodded, but he wouldn’t quite meet Thor’s eyes.
“You sure?”
“Yes.” God, he sounded so small.
“You having a little sub drop, baby?”
“A little what?”
Uhhh… “You know, when the endorphins stop flowing?” Why did he look so confused?
“Oh. I wasn’t… I mean maybe. I don’t really know how this all works–”
Fuckfuckfuckplease don’t say it
“I’ve never done anything like that before.”
It took every ounce of strength Thor had to keep from flinching. “You’ve never been spanked before.” Not a question, he was just repeating it out loud to force himself to process it. He’d hit him so hard-
“I’ve never even had someone talk to me like that before.”
Oh god
“The people I date… we don’t do that. They don’t treat me like that. We don’t… pretend. And we don’t hit each other.”
Thor felt a bead of sweat trickle down his spine. “Um, listen, I didn’t know that. Like, at all. I assumed you were experienced, like really experienced. You fell right into step with me, you knew what you wanted, fuck Lo, I didn’t realize. I’m so sorry, I never would’ve gone that hard on you if I had known.”
“So that was really hard.”
Thor wiped his brow. He could feel a pretty decent sweat coming on, and not a good one. Had he read everything wrong? He’d beaten the fuck out of him. This beautiful little millionaire was going to fire him, maybe call the fuckin’ cops. His stupid screwup could wind up costing the dozen guys in his crew their goddamn jobs. Thor started mentally reviewing what had transpired upstairs. He’d had permission, he was sure he had. Hadn’t he? God, he felt like he was going to be sick. He’d just kind of assumed that they were on the same page… had he read the whole fucking thing wrong?
“Lo, what are you putting upstairs?”
“What?”
“Tell me, please. Up on the third floor. I just… fuck, just tell me.”
“A library.”
Thor nodded. “Obviously. Books are obviously what’s going up there, the best stuff.”
“What does that have to do with anyth-”
“Nothing. I just got a lot of things wrong.” What were you thinking, dumbass?
They sat in awkward, horrible silence for a moment. His hand was still resting on Loki’s thigh. Though he knew he should pull it back, maintaining that connection felt right, almost vital. And Loki didn’t shy away from it; if anything, he was leaning toward him a little.
“What you did was hard, but there’s harder.” Loki was staring intently now, eyes wide, lips slightly parted.
Thor considered himself a relatively smart guy. Maybe not heart-surgeon-smart, but not the genial himbo most people assumed him to be. Something wasn’t making sense here. “I mean, yeah, of course, there’s-”
“And you can do harder.” Loki closed his hand over Thor’s on his leg and gave it an insistent squeeze.
The nauseating churn in his stomach abruptly stopped.
“You could do harder than that. You would want to. With me.” It wasn’t a question.
“I’ll do anything you want, baby. Anything.”
“Can you kiss me?”
Thor chuckled, then started unlacing his workboots. “Yeah, I guess we skipped over a few things up there. Let's start from the beginning this time. Scooch over. I’m going to kiss every square inch of you.”