HUD: Ah ha! The super secret one shot I have been working on! It's just fun, so please enjoy. This was a blast to write.
Also, this is dedicated to my dear Shi-Toyu, for being so very patient.
Tony Stark had this habit. It wasn't a bad habit, not by any means, but it was something he never did in front of people until Clint was kind enough to point it out.
"Dude, stop," the archer moaned, hand over his head. Tony paused from where he was building his sandwich in the kitchen.
"As awesome as I am, I'm not a mind reader. Working on it, though," Tony answered, turning back to layering turkey, salami, mozzarella, and cheddar on his superhero sub. Clint sighed and stood up from where he had been playing on his tablet in the living room.
"Listen, dude; it's really hard for me to kick virtual zombie ass while you're in here fucking singing and gyrating all over the counter," Clint answered, folding his arms over his chest. Tony turned again and blinked at him.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Tony huffed, turning back. Now for some lettuce.
"Bullshit. I bet I can tell you the last song you were listening to in the lab," Clint shot back. "Wanna try me?"
Tony paused, hand still in the lettuce bag. He seriously thought about it as he absently laid out a row of lettuce (the leafy green bits, not that super crunchy shit that tasted like the chemicals they used to keep the little critters off). "Fine, shoot."
"Love in an Elevator by Aerosmith," Clint answered immediately. Tony snorted, chuckling under his breath.
"Good job, Pretty Bird. You can hear," Tony chuckled. "If it's bothering you, wear some fucking headphones. I'm not turning it down, if that's what you're asking."
"Fuck you, Stark," Clint shrugged, tone without venom, as he turned back to the warm couch and his paused game. "Just trying to save yourself some embarrassment. You never know who may catch your freelancing karaoke shows."
Tony flipped him off over his shoulder, but he knew the Avenger didn't see it. After leaving off the tomatoes from one side, Tony cut the sandwich clean down the centre and grabbed two cans of Pepsi from the fridge. He threw a look over his shoulder at Clint, who had his nose buried deep in that damn 'Plants vs Zombies' game. Tony really couldn't blame him - it was fun as hell.
Still though, he didn't have a problem.
"Here is thine sandwich of awesome, darling," Tony announced as he walked from the elevator and into his lab. He wasn't alone, and he was counting the seconds until -
"I have no issues abandoning you, Stark." There it is! Tony grinned from ear to ear as he turned into the little alcove of the lab that housed a couch, small table, and mini fridge. Loki Laufeyson sat on the couch, long legs drawn up beneath him like a cat, as he read over their notes from a recent experiment.
"I thought we had upgraded to pet names," Tony answered, feigning innocence. He sat on the other side of the small couch but not too far from Loki - it was really more of a love seat, anyway - and passed over a Pepsi.
"I thought you had upgraded to enjoying life," Loki shot back, taking the can. "It seems we were both incorrect."
Tony laughed, setting the shared plate down on the small table. "Fine, I won't call you darling," Tony answered, cracking open his can. "Frosty the Snowman it is, then."
The look Loki shot him could melt steel, but it just made Tony laugh harder. "Stark," he began, tone warning.
"Oh, c'mon! I promise I won't forget your birthday," Tony answered with a wink. Loki continued to glare. "Fine, fine. I'll tone it down."
"Indeed you will," Loki answered icily. Tony just snorted, taking a swig of his soda to stop from laughing.
"Well, seriously though, there's the sandwich," Tony said after a moment. Loki nodded, setting aside their notes. Tony pulled the plate over to sit in the limited space between them, scooping up his half.
"I appreciate the lack of the red fruit," Loki said after a bite.
"Hey, I appreciate you not throwing it at me after last time," Tony grinned. Loki's lips quirked, but he remained silent. Tony's grin turned to a soft smile as they settled into a companionable silence.
It hadn't been too different from the situation now, actually. Loki had silently offered his help to whatever Tony needed, even without the engineer asking. The attention wasn't lost on Tony, that's for sure. He loved having Loki around; it had been a fluke that the god was even living there in the first place, but after a few months of awesome partnered pranks on the rest of the team they had become friends, of sorts. Well, so Tony thought, until he had brought a good natured superhero sub that he had made as a surprise, only to have it lobbed back at his head after one bite.
Looking back on it, it was pretty hilarious to see Loki get all riled up and offended by a few tomato slices, but at the time Tony was less than humorous. They didn't speak for nearly a week, Tony became a dick to everyone else and Loki had taken to dropping water balloons off the side of the Tower anytime any of the Avengers left. Even Clint was jealous of the god's fucking amazing aim (his words), but when the water turned to ice and left an indent in the concrete, barely missing Steve, Natasha got involved. She dragged Loki and Tony bodily from their corners and forced an apology from both. Tony thought Loki was going to kill her, but it seemed they had become friends as well during the god's stay.
That was when Tony realized he was jealous of Natasha. He wanted Loki back, playing with fire and blowing shit up with him, in his lab. No one else. So he apologized and swore to never have another tomato touch anything he made for Loki. It was met with silence, before Clint threw his hands up and stormed out, saying his life wasn't worth a slice of fucking tomato.
So yeah, looking back it was fucking hysterical and could bring tears to his eyes, but there was a lesson in it. Tony had become accustomed to having Loki around, and when he wasn't there was a tomato-sized hole in his face - er, heart? - and Tony wasn't himself. He was surprised the god had left such an imprint on him with his presence, even more than the one left after throwing him from the window. Tony quickly found he couldn't help himself - he constantly would catch himself watching Loki discreetly from his peripherals while he moved through the lab. Not too long after Loki had moved in (honestly, though, he just never fucking left after a 'visit' with Thor), Tony had ordered some normy clothes for the god.
Of course, they mainly consisted of lounge pants and band shirts Loki wasn't aware of, but whatever. Tony loved watching him in the clothes he had picked, and he almost thought Loki knew it. The lounge pants fit well, but sometimes they would hang around Loki's hips, exposing a sliver of pale skin Tony couldn't tear his eyes from. Loki either didn't care or wasn't aware, because he never fixed it. Once it began to happen every time they hung out, Tony swore Loki was on to him.
Would that really be so bad, though? Tony flicked his eyes over to the god in question; he was chewing absently, eyes roaming over their notes on the arm of the couch. He had his hair pulled into a thick braid and laid over his shoulder, blocking part of his face from Tony, but Tony had memorized his features already anyway. Sharp jaw, smooth nose, high cheekbones, bright emerald eyes - oh yes, Tony spent a lot of their lab time cataloging, alright. Today he was wearing a long sleeved shirt with a low collar that was impossibly tight, showing every curve and hallow of his lean torso. Tony could see the shape of Loki's ribs when he stretched to turn a page, and he had to remember to breathe.
Tony hadn't just excused himself to make a sandwich; he was feeling a little too fuzzy again, so he focused on mowing down his sub. Sometime during his distracted eating, he had earned Loki's attention.
"Do remember to breathe, would you? I would rather not be blamed for your food induced suicide," the god drawled, one thin eyebrow quirked. Tony swallowed, taking a swig of his soda, and chuckled.
"Don't worry about me, sweetness, I'm just really fucking hungry," Tony grinned, winking. Loki narrowed his eyes at the name, but said nothing. Tony internally cheered a victory.
Tony hurriedly finished his sandwich, noticing that Loki had long been done while he was lost in thought. He leaned back with a sigh, patting his full stomach, once he was caught up.
"Alright, nap time," Tony said, stretching his arms over his head.
"I think not," Loki snorted, placing the plate on the table and standing up. "We are scarcely a third of the way into - "
"Nope, nap," Tony said, falling over where Loki had been sitting. The god huffed, placing one chill hand on Tony's shoulder and pulling him forward and off of the couch. Tony yelped, hands going out to brace himself during the fall.
"Up, Anthony," Loki said, tone amused. Tony growled, turning his head to stare at the god's socked feet. He didn't entirely decide if this was a good idea or not, but whatever. Do now, think later. Tony flicked his eyes up to Loki and blinked. The god stared down at him, lips quirked in that smirk that drove Tony wild, as Tony latched his hand around Loki's ankle and pulled. Loki gasped as Tony rolled, pulling him down to his ass on the small carpet. Tony started laughing when he heard the string of curses from Loki.
"What's the matter, Lokes?" He asked, turning back towards Loki. The god was frowning, but his eyes were dancing with mirth. "Having trouble getting up, too?"
"Oh please," Loki snorted, pushing his free foot on Tony's cheek.
"Ack! Gross, man!" Tony laughed, pushing Loki's feet away. Loki smirked wider, now showing a row of impossibly white teeth. Tony chuckled again, but lost some of his fight. Damn he was gorgeous.
Loki took the lapse in attention and pulled his feet free, now standing again. He straightened his shirt, which had ridden up slightly, before casually holding a hand out for Tony. Tony grinned, little giggles still escaping him, as he took Loki's offer. They stood before each other, Loki a few inches over Tony. He was suddenly lost in the carefree look on Loki's face as his eyes shined brighter than Tony had ever seen. Tony really couldn't help it - he was staring again, but he didn't care.
"Come, Anthony," Loki said after a moment, turning to walk into the lab proper. "I do believe it is time to continue our experiment?"
"Yeah, sorry," Tony answered, finally snapping free. He didn't miss that look Loki threw him over his shoulder, though. Shit; he had already used his sandwich excuse.
They continued their experiment, which was merely growing a new type of chemical that would cling to blond hair and Clint and turn it into a shimmering rainbow. There was totally a little of magic in that, but Tony was finr with it. He was mainly out to get Clint after his quips in the kitchen, and Loki was totally cool with helping that dream become a reality.
After a few more hours and Tony being distracted a few times by the setting sunlight shimmering off of Loki, they finally finished it. Loki used an eye dropper to drip a few fat tears of water onto the bed of nearly translucent and very volatile mixture. They both watched as the water spread quickly with a bright prismatic ring.
"This is going to be so awesome," Tony grinned, watching the shift of colour.
"Shall we use their shampoo?" Loki asked, eyes bright. Tony looked over, loving how the look of mischief could completely change Loki's expression. He was bright and open, and Tony could only imagine what the god had been like before Odin had destroyed him.
"Oh totally," Tony grinned, standing back. He took a chance, throwing his arm around Loki's shoulders. The god just grinned, leaning into the embrace. Tony thought his heart was going to break through his arc reactor. "Let's go do this."
He and Loki split the mixture three ways in Petri dishes, snapping lids over them and slipping from the lab. It was easy to get into Steve and Thor's floors because the two were out sparing. Clint was harder, so they had JARVIS call him to the communal floor under the pretense that Natasha needed a jar of pickles open. Tony was surprised it had worked, but whatever - he held the bottle steady as Loki poured the mix in. He capped the bottle back and shook it up, grin threatening to break his face.
"I hate when she calls me then disappears," Clint grumbled. "Made me pause my game..."
Tony froze, hearing Clint walk down the hall. Loki motioned for him to hurry, so he set the bottle down. They were barely teleported out of the bathroom just as Clint was opening the door. Tony held his breath until he was standing in the communal kitchen, Loki's hand still wrapped around his.
"This is going to be the best one so far," Tony said after a moment. Loki nodded, chuckling, as he released Tony's hand and took a seat at the table.
"Oh absolutely. Be sure to have you building spirit ready to record," Loki answered. Tony nodded, new peels of laughter escaping him.
"We deserve a treat. I'm gonna get some ice cream," Tony grinned, turning to the cupboards. As he pulled down two bowls, he finally had to admit that he had a problem.
It really wasn't a problem, more like a habit. It only seemed to happen when he was doing things in the kitchen, which was why he never cooked for any of them. What was worse, though, was that he had been on an Aerosmith kick lately. He always blared music in the lab when he was working, Loki there or not. Either he didn't care or just didn't notice, but the god never commented on turning it off or down. If he had, Tony would totally be cool with it, but he never did. Now Tony knew why - he never actually listened to it.
So while Tony was scooping ice cream into two bowls, his usual muttered singing progressed in volume to where Loki could hear it. Usually, it was under his breath and quiet if there was someone around, but he was comfortable enough around Loki to not care (he just didn't know Clint was in the room earlier). The reason Aerosmith was a problem, well, was because he really got into it.
"Walk this way, talk this way..." He hummed, tapping his feet. He totally forgot Loki was there, honestly, as he piled more ice cream into the bowls and rocked on the balls of his feet. "Waaaaaalk this waaaay, waaaaalk this waaaaaay!" He grinned, his shoulders now getting into it. He threw the carton back into the freezer, closing it with his foot. "Oh walk this way! Just gimme a kiss - "
Tony was shocked, to say the least, when he spun around in the heat of the song to see Loki there. He had a momentary second of panic at being too wrapped up to remember the god being in the room, but it all disappeared when he felt a pair of chill lips press to his in a tender, chaste kiss.
" - like this," he breathed, when Loki pulled away. The god was staring at him, eyes still that impossibly bright emerald and entirely transparent, as he quirked a smirk.
"I was beginning to think my advances were unmet; however, I never expected you to simply ask," Loki muttered, bringing a hand up to stroke Tony's chin. Tony blinked, trying to think. When had he just asked for a - oh, oh. This was awesome.
"Oh shit, you thought I was asking you to..." Tony trailed off, his laughter getting the better of him. Loki frowned, pulling his hand back. Tony had to grab the counter to stop from sliding down.
"I do not appreciate being made a fool, Anthony," Loki said darkly. Tony shook his head, now at the stage of silent laughing as tears streamed from his face. He grabbed Loki's hand as the God attempted to walk away.
"No, nooo. Don't go. This is just..." He wheezed, shaking his hand. "Okay, okay. Sorry, I'm sorry! That was just hilarious."
"Explain," Loki demanded.
"I always wondered why you never said anything about my music being so loud," Tony began. "You tune it out, don't you?"
"Yes; how is this relevant?" Loki snapped. Tony chuckled again, squeezing his hand. Damn it was so nice to finally hold Loki's hand.
"I have a habit of singing while I'm in the kitchen," Tony said, finally getting a hold of his laughing. "I was singing just now, Loki. Those were song lyrics."
Loki blinked, hand going still in Tony's grasp. Tony watched his expression become guarded as he bit his bottom lip.
"Then, do you not - " he began, tone unsure.
"Hell no! You couldn't get rid of me now if you tried," Tony said, pulling Loki forward. Their lips met again, this time Tony actually doing more than just standing like a fucking idiot, and Loki finally relaxed. They kissed lazily against the counter, ice cream nearly forgotten behind them.
Tony jumped when he heard Clint's roar of anger, pulling back and grinning broadly at Loki. "I think he took a shower when we left."
"Shall we await the show?" Loki asked, matching his expression. Tony scooped up one slightly melted bowl of ice cream and passed it to Loki.
"Uh, duh," the genius answered, taking his bowl and Loki's hand and heading for the living room. They sat side by side, now with no space between them on the long couch. Tony couldn't wipe that broad grin from his face, suddenly happier than he had been in years. He had been admiring Loki from afar for a while, and he was undeniable happy to know his feelings were returned.
When Clint barreled out of the elevator, hair shimmering blue and violet, Tony couldn't help himself. He started laughing and called Clint a Blue Gay, which had the archer stomping right up to him and demanding a cure. When all Tony did was laugh harder, Clint tackled him off of the couch and rolled around in the carpet. Tony still couldn't stop laughing, and when he caught Loki in tears and still the most beautiful person he had ever seen, he decided he wouldn't have it any other way.
Even when Clint punched him in the gut, Tony still couldn't stop laughing. Today had been a good day. He had no regrets.
A/N: There we go! Just a whole lotta laughs. I loved this one, it was so much fun to write. Leave me some feedback in the box, yo! Then you guys be getting more one shots and shit. ;)
i love you all, and thanks for reading!