It didn't all happen in one day. No this took weeks in the making. It took Loki a long time to finally be able to put his plan in action. He thought that maybe he should take over the picturebox and announce that 'Iron Man and Captain America should stop screwing around and screw,' but he knew that it wouldn't work.
So every so often Loki would plant a seed. Not one of friendship or anything normal, but one that would change both their lives. Not his, but Anthony Starks and Steve Rogers. It was easy enough. Making Tony decide to thank Steve whenever he did something nice or making Steve make Tony food or drink when he needed it. This continued on until they started following a routine. Steve would make breakfast, Tony would stop running around either partying or working on one of his projects, then Steve would make dinner. It was the same thing over and over. Until nothing happened.
Days turned into weeks, weeks turned into months, months turned into a year, and a year was too long for Loki to wait. So he made another move. One that wouldn't get him caught, but would bring the other two together. It made sense really, the two of them being together. Loki thought as he appeared in the new "Stark Towers" to bring the unwitting pair together.
Loki waltzed through the empty house, only being seen by Jarvis, the buildings AI butler. Though he would never outright admit it, Jarvis was working with Loki to bring his Master and Mr. Rogers together.
"Ah I see the Mischief Maker has returned. What is it that you would like to do now?" Jarvis asked as Loki walked down to the Stark's elevator and down to Tony's lab. "What are you doing in the Laboratory?"
"I'm just putting something down for 'The Iron Man,'" Loki said sarcastically. "Hopefully he'll find what I put down for him. He is a dunce at relationships, but this may help a little." He held up the book for Jarvis to see.
"Ah, a book on magic. I see how that could be of use to you, but how will it help Master Stark and Mr. Rogers?" For a simple computer, he pulled off sounding confused very well.
"It will help. If he finds the right spell." Loki smirked, marking the page with the silk strand connected to the book. "There, it should make it easy for him to find the spell." He placed the book on the table right before he heard people walking into the apartment. "Oops, gotta get going," Loki smirked and walked back out the way he came.
Poor Steve and Tony didn't know the trouble they were getting in when they walked into their house. Steve had started living there when his apartment had been burned down. Some old lady had left a dish towel on the stove and burned the building down. No one was hurt luckily, but it did leave some homeless. Some stayed with relatives while others, only Steve, had no where else to go. S.H.I.E.L.D. had tried to set him up somewhere, but it didn't work out very well. Agent Coulson then offered to take him in, but that didn't work out either. Agent Barton didn't like his husband's idol living with him while he was away. So then Tony took him in.
And that was worse than anywhere else he tried to live. Steve knew it was wrong, but he like men. His first crush was Bucky. Bucky alway protected him and gave him comfort in his times of need. His second crush was Howard Stark, Tony's father. Howard was sophisticated and elegant and everything that was sexy in those times.
Then, then he met Tony. And Tony was better than either of the two. He was sophisticated and caring. Elegant yet gentle and comforting. He was human. Human enough to fall in love with Pepper, who later dumped him for someone else, leaving Tony to go through weeks of depression and silence only brightening when Steve played a marathon of horror movies and ate ice cream with him. Human enough to cry at the end of "Marley and Me." Human enough to go through alcohol addiction and back. All this and he was human. The thought made Steve fall in love with him all the more.
But the problem was not one sided. Tony was going through the same things he was. Sure he had his fair share of women under his belt, but he also had a sizeable amount of men under there too. Some were nobodys, others business partners, but none of them meant anything. Then he was there for the thawing of Capsicle, he admired the older man from when he was a child. From all the fights he heard, he was sure his father had some kind of relationship with the Cap, but just couldn't place it. Later finding out his father was crushing on the guy.
Tony couldn't really blame him though. Ever since he was 17 he knew that Captain America was his one and only. Not that it mattered back then. The Cap didn't exist, S.H.I.E.L.D. didn't exist, Iron Man didn't exist. All there was was Tony Stark. The boy with no home, no family, no loved ones. Hell, not even a dog! No one. So he clung on to the only thing he had left. His childhood idol. The only thing that didn't leave him alone in the dark. And Steve still didn't. No matter what Tony did or didn't do, Steve was there. Given it had been a rough start, but it all worked out in the end. So far anyway.
"I don't know why you make me carry on the groceries Tony. I know you're perfectly capable of carrying them," Steve complained walking in with no less than 30 bags in his arms. Tony smirked and took off the sunglasses he had been wearing.
"But Steve, a man such as myself should never carry the bags. And you insisted on going shopping after breakfast, so that makes the bags your problem," Tony reasoned.
"No, I told you that we needed more food in the house and asked you where my bike was. You were the one to insist on coming with me. Then you didn't even carry a bag! Not even the bread bag Tony."
"I couldn't risk harming my delicate hands," Tony joked when he knew he had no other excuse. Steve rolled his eyes, finally giving up trying to reprimand him. "You can place the bags on the counter. Since I didn't help with carrying the bags, I'll help put away the food."
"No you won't," Steve said, placing the bags on the counter. "What you'll probably do is sit on the counter and eat snacks."
"Hey! That is so putting food away!" Tony argued hopping on the counter. He leaned over the bags and started searching around for candy or junk food. "Where are the donuts I bought?" He started worrying. He never forgot donuts, never! Donuts were his comfort food.
"We," Steve corrected placing a small bag of chocolate and powder donuts in the bag. "Sarah placed them next to the ice cream and chocolate syrup." Tony perked up as he spoke.
"Sarah? Who's Sarah?"
"She's the Checkout lady. She usually helps me find the things I need, like food and stuff. Sometimes we just talk and hang out. She's offered me to go out for coffee, but I'm not a big coffee drinker." They were stuck in an uncomfortable silence after that. Tony really didn't like silence and so he jumped down, placing the goodies on the kitchen, and leaving to go sulk in his lab.
"Jarvis, lock the doors. I don't want to see anyone right now," Tony sighed, plopping down in one of the many stools littering the room. Jarvis didn't reply, but simply locked the doors as requested. "Thanks, I just need a few minutes to think. Dammit Steve, you always have to say something." Tony sighed placing his head on the desk. There was something under him. A book? "What the hell," he sat up and looked down.
"What is it sir?" Jarvis asked. Tony lifted the book and Jarvis instantly recognized it as a token from Loki. "Ah, I see you've brought a book into your lab. Why don't you open it up and see what's inside. Reading my help sooth the nerves."
Tony rolled his eyes. The only books he'd ever read was- when had he last read a book? Well he guessed it wasn't too late to change that. Tony opened the book and skimmed through it. One of them caught his eye and he started chanting it. Reading it off the page as best he could. He didn't think much of it when he started reading, but after a while there was a bright light and everything hurt. Tony cried out in pain.
From all the way upstairs Steve could hear the scream. He jumped and ran down stairs, knowing that the elevator would take too long. As he ran he called to Jarvis.
"Jarvis! Jarvis where's Tony?!" He ran faster looking for his crush. It was taking too long to find him.
"Master Stark is down in the laboratory," Jarvis replied instantly.
"Unlock the doors," Steve commanded.
"Master Stark has asked that I-"
"Jarvis, open the damn door!" Steve cried when he reached the lab. He knew Tony had a bad habit of locking the door when he was bored or alone. Jarvis didn't argue after that and opened the door. He knew Steve meant business. Steve never cursed and when he did it was usually because of pain, desperation, or anger. In this case it was desperation.
Steve threw the door open and ran in. "Tony? Tony where are you?!" There was a groaned mumble and a shuffling behind the main desk in the room. Steve ran over and looked down. There was some kid laying on the floor. The child groaned something mysteriously like "Jarvis" then something like "Steve."
No, this- this couldn't be right. "Tony? What- what happened to you? Is that even you?" The little boy pulled himself up to his knees and looked around.
"Why is everything so big?" Tony looked up to his desk and ceiling. Why did they look so far away? This was all so wrong. "Steve?" Tony turned around to see the taller man behind him. "What happened? Did I fall asleep?" Tony stood, but Steve was still much taller than normal. "What happened to you? You're so tall!"
Steve shook his head, "No Tony, you've gotten shorter." Tony yelped as he looked down at himself. He had a long sleeved red shirt and small tan shorts on. He raised his hands to his face. Soft, smooth skin, no beard. He was a child!
"What the hell!" Tony cried. He ran around the lab, looking to see if he could find a mirror. Sadly there was none, but Steve did point him in the direction of his Iron Man suit. Tony hesitantly walked up to the armor. He only came up to the hip of the suit, though he was still able to look in. "I'm- I'm eight! I'm eight years old!"
"I- It's not that bad," Steve tried to amend, "it could be worse." Tony turned to glare at him, but with such an adorable face, it didn't look that terrifying.
"How? How could it be worse? You could be a child? Oh, I know, I could be dead." Tony joked flatly.
"Don't talk that way." Steve went and picked little Tony up. "I meant that it could have happened at a worse time. We could have been in the middle of a fight with Loki or something. So this seems like a good compromise. For now. What were you doing before all this happened?"
"Reading a book," Tony pouted, pointing to the desk he was behind. Steve moved Tony to his side, so he was hanging on his hip. As they moved to the desk, Steve spotted the book.
"This thing? Was this thing what you were reading?" Steve picked it up and looked for a title, none, author, none, whose book was this? He opened the cover, "Tony was Loki ever in your house?"
Tony shrugged, "Yeah, he broke in when we lost Coulson. Now that I think about it, what if Loki didn't kill Coulson on purpose? What if he just wanted a distraction? Just hurt Coulson enough to make us worry, ya know?"
Steve disregarded most of the answer, "I think that Loki might have placed this here before we found him."
"Why ya think that?" Tony asked snapping back to his senses.
"It has his name on it," Steve held up the book. Loki was written in nice curvy handwriting. "So, we should ask Thor, right?"