Sometime after the Battle of New York, Tony finds himself fighting Loki again. A spell backfires, sending them both to a universe where they – and the rest of the Avengers – are college students. Even worse, they have to play along, and the would-be subjugator of Earth has to quickly learn to act like a young human. Even WORSE, they find out they're a couple in this world, and they have to play along with that as well.

It quickly grows difficult for Tony to tell fiction from reality. Is Loki really falling for him, or is he just that good an actor, and still planning to kill him once they figure out how to get back to their universe?

Set between Iron Man 3 and Thor 2

That was it, the energy signature was definitely coming from that building. Tony swooped lower, hovering closer to the ground before landing, not bothering with his signature landing pose when no audience was present.

A warehouse... he thought as he blasted a door open. The villain is actually holed up in an old warehouse. Someone should have a word with him about perpetuating stereotypes. The interior was in desperate need of a coat of paint, but other than that, wasn't as creepy as he had anticipated. Light spilled in from the windows that lined the walls, up near the distant ceiling.

And there in the center was the foe he was after. Tony supposed he should be more shocked by the familiar black hair and leather clothes, but somehow he had been expecting him. Loki stood with his back to Tony, appearing as though he hadn't even heard the rather noisy entrance. A large design had been drawn onto the floor at his feet, an intricate and magical looking circle that was just as stereotypical as the choice in location. Someday, Tony hoped an evil mage would choose a happy rainbow design sigil drawn onto the floor of an abandoned daycare. And hey, no anxiety, so maybe the ridiculousness of the situation was a plus.

Loki made a variety of gestures with his hands, muttering something Tony couldn't catch. Wisps of green smoke curled from his fingers, and the drawing on the ground was soon glowing with a matching green color.

Part of Tony really, really wanted to just wait and see what was about to happen. He couldn't help it, he was a curious creature. But letting the villain accomplish his goals would be bad, if he were making another stupid wormhole that would be really bad, so Tony introduced himself the same way as their first meeting. He fired a repulsor blast, sending the god staggering, but not quite bowling him over like it should have.

"Nice to see you again." Tony kept all of the weapons he had at his disposal trained on Loki. The slightest move, and he really would fire, all of them. When Tony had awakened that morning, it was with the happy knowledge that he was on vacation, with nothing more strenuous than a dip in the hot tub. If he wanted to get out of bed at all. But then Fury had called...

Loki turned, leveling him with a poisonous glare that quickly became a pseudo-friendly smile. "Indeed."

"I thought you were in prison."

"Things changed," Loki said, spreading his hands. "I thought you retired."

"Things changed." If Tony was going to delve into the details of his quick return to building suits, returning to danger, occasionally working with his fellow Avengers and enjoying the hell out of it, his girlfriend finally leaving him, he wasn't going to do it with Loki of all people. "So I guess I'm arresting you again."

"You are going to leave me alone," Loki said. And he actually had the balls to turn his back on Tony, returning to his sigil. "I will be gone in just a few minutes, and won't bother you again."

Okay. The hard way this time. Tony launched himself at Loki without further discussion, and the god flung himself to the side, pivoting around to punch him in the head and knock him back. Being taken on by unarmored individuals would never seem normal...

Tony had expected fighting Loki hand-to-hand would be reminiscent of fighting Thor, what with them being raised together and all. It was not. He was fighting the gazelle instead of the lion, only a gazelle with a really mean punch. The bastard kept not being there when Tony swung at him, leaving him standing there stupidly and open for an attack. At one point, Tony would swear there was more than one Loki in the room.

A vicious blow sent Tony stumbling. He lashed out blindly with an armored leg, and it was by pure luck he actually connected and knocked Loki down. Tony grabbed him and flung him into the wall, frustrated when that seemed to mostly just wind the god, even if the wall was not so lucky. But Tony still took advantage of the split second Loki was stunned and took aim – just in time for Loki to pull the cloning trick again, and Tony had no idea which of the multiple Lokis to fire upon. Until the real Loki had a grip on his arm, swinging him like a discus.

Tony didn't let him repay the favor and toss him through a wall. He fired at Loki while he was in mid-swing, and he let go with an annoyed cry, both of them stumbling. Tony tackled Loki before he had time to recover, sending them both sprawling to the ground.

"No, you idiot!" Loki shouted, scrambling to his feet, and Tony realized they had both fallen directly onto the circular sigil. It had been thoroughly smudged by their bodies, and there was a very alarming look of panic on Loki's face. "What have you done?"

Tony swallowed, throat suddenly dry. If Loki was worried, this could not mean anything good. "What did you do?"

"What did I-" Loki was cut off by a rumble from deep within that ground that made Tony's teeth rattle. "Oh, you fool."

Tony couldn't move. He really, really wanted to get the hell out of that magical circle, especially as it flared to life with green fire, but he was stuck. It wasn't that he was paralyzed (he knew what that was like too, unfortunately), it was as if the will to move had simply been sucked out of him. If this was another fucking portal to space...

The flames grew brighter, though they cast no heat. Green light filled Tony's vision, and tendrils of fear were taking hold of him. As his vision grew dark, accompanied by the sensation of being wrung out like a washcloth, all Tony could think was that at least Loki was going down with him.

Tony's senses returned slowly, one by one. It was an arduous process. Touch, of course, was the first to recover, restoring him to consciousness with a lovely headache. It was a headache of the 'drank too much last night' strength, but nothing out of the ordinary or unmanageable. That particular sense also tried to tell him that he was laying on grass instead of the warehouse floor, which couldn't be right. Some time after that – minutes or hours, he could not say – sight was the last to return, as he finally managed to crack his eyes open.

It seemed his sensory receptors had not lied to him. Tony was indeed laying on grass. And it wasn't until that moment that he remembered that, regardless of what he was laying on, he should not have been able to feel it anyway. What happened to the suit?

Panic jerked him upright. Tony looked around wildly, but there was no flash of red or gold anywhere. And as he looked down at himself, he realized he wasn't even wearing the same clothes he had been underneath the armor. Jeans and a band t-shirt. Which, yeah, was his usual style of casual clothing, but it still wasn't what he'd worn that day.

There were buildings. No abandoned warehouses anywhere, the buildings looked well-used. Uniformly brick, arranged around a vast grassy area that was crisscrossed with sidewalks that met in the center at a fountain. One of the buildings was right beside them, so Tony supposed he was lucky he hadn't been dumped right on top of it. It didn't take clusters of students milling about (thankfully not nearby) to tell Tony he had ended up on a campus somewhere. What the hell sort of transportation spell had Loki come up with?

It certainly could have been worse. Considering how horrified Loki had looked when Tony interfered with his magic, this was definitely nowhere near as bad as what he had anticipated.

Speaking of... Oh, there he was. Loki still appeared unconscious, lying in a heap on the grass nearby. He had also had his clothing changed, and was wearing black jeans and a green button-up shirt. It looked quite odd on him.

"Okay..." Tony finally forced himself to his feet. The headache was ebbing, and the dizziness he had expected upon standing was minor. He was fine. Transported to some university or other for whatever reason, but fine. He nudged Loki with his foot. Then, remembering himself, turned the next nudge into a kick. "Get up and take me home."

Loki rolled over with a growl, and slowly sat up. He blinked as he took in their surroundings, then turned to Tony with a murderous glare. "What have you done?"

"Yeah, you keep blaming me." Tony snorted, stepping away from the angry god. "I'm pretty sure this has been all your fault. Why did you bring us here?"

"Obviously this had not been my intent." Loki stood, taking in his new outfit with obvious distaste. "It was a spell to transport me to a distant planet."

"Good for you. Send me... Hey, what am I worrying about? I can easily get home from here. I don't need your stupid magic."

But Loki didn't seem to be paying attention. His eyes were locked on something behind Tony, and that horrified look from the moment his spell backfired had returned. "I would not count on that..."

Tony glanced around, but the only thing behind him was one of the buildings. "I'm afraid so, I-" He was cut off when Loki lunged forward, snagging Tony by the throat and slamming him back against the window behind him.

"Oh, you fool, what have you done?" Loki snarled.

"You know," Tony managed to say in a strangled voice, "I am really getting tired of you and windows." And as Loki's eyes narrowed, Tony knew he was looking at death itself. He had no idea what was pissing Loki off so much, but he looked truly murderous.

"Do you know where we are?" Loki's voice had grown deadly quiet. Tony could only stare at him and wait for the final blow, for his hand to squeeze a little tighter. And then, to Tony's great surprise, Loki released him.

"It's just some stupid school!" Tony managed, rubbing his throat.

"Turn around."

"I'm not going to-"

"Turn around!"

Tony did so. It wasn't like he was being asked to do something stupid like kneel or bend over; apparently Loki had seen something in the window that seriously freaked him out.

"I don't see anything," Tony said. "Something inside?"

"No," Loki said, scornful. "Look again."

"I don't... oh..." Their reflections. Tony looked over at Loki, then back to the window, astonished. Their reflections looked like teenagers! They didn't, Loki was still the same millenium-old-alien-who-looked-about-thirtyish in person. But their reflections said otherwise. Tony raised a hand to wave, and the kid version of him waved as well. He moved the hand to his face, feeling the familiar lines and facial hair, despite the smooth face peering back at him.

Tony turned to gape at Loki. "What have you done?"