Author's Note: I wrote this in a workshop the other day. A fellow writer (check her out! u/4605436/Soursugar88 ) Requested I put it up. So... yeah! It's a standalone fic, no OCs, just pure Avengers goodness. So enjoy!
A twinkling eye can mean many things. Happiness, an idea, or simply the glisten of spring allergies. This one, Tony knew, meant only trouble. It was April fool's day, and their resident trickster god had come down from his room in the tower with a glint in his eye that sent shivers down Tony's spine.
"No." He said bluntly, standing in front of Loki.
"You shall have to elaborate more, Stark." Loki said with a smirk.
"You know what. No pranks. I get it, okay? The whole trickster god thing, this is practically a religious holiday. But not in my house. I don't want to have to deal with the wrath of Fury. Or worse, Pepper."
"I have no intention of "pranking" you this day. Scout's honor." Loki said sarcastically, holding up his hand and everything. Tony scowled, and turned to the kitchen to make himself breakfast. God help him, if Loki had messed with his coffee… no. It was ready made, as always, (Thank you, Jarvis) with no "special ingredients" to speak of. As he sipped from his favorite Hulk-shaped mug (Bruce hated the thing, but Tony insisted on keeping it around.) He saw out of the corner of his eye, a rather alarming sight. Loki was counting down with his fingers, whispering under his breath.
"Three…" Tony heard. "Two… one." That's when they heard an agonized scream from the far side of the tower, and the sound of intent feet stomping towards them.
"What did you do?" Tony asked, actually feeling a bit scared.
"Oh, just helping my brother with his beauty routine. Farewell!" He snapped his fingers and disappeared into a cloud of smoke, leaving Tony to deal with the other Asgardian, who stormed into the room wearing nothing but a towel. It took all he had not to snicker at the sight.
"Hey, goldilocks." He said. The god scowled. Okay, maybe that had been adding insult to injury. But he couldn't help it; Thor's entire head of normally flaxen-gold hair was dyed cotton-candy pink.
"Where is he?" Thor roared.
"Where's who?" Tony said innocently, taking a sip of his coffee.
"My brother! Look what the bilgesnipe did to my hair!" Tony chuckled. He had to admit, he was getting a kick out of this. He was expecting Loki to do something a bit more... hardcore. Trapping Thor in ice, perhaps, or turning him into a frog. But this? This was downright juvenile. The entire day, Tony saw neither hide nor hair of Loki, but plenty of evidence that he had, in fact, been working hard.
"Baking soda and vinegar." Bruce said, dismayed as he gestured around his lab for emphasis. He picked up a test tube. "Baking soda." He said. He picked up another. "Vinegar." He mixed them together and watched them foam over. "All of it. No matter what I do, what I mix, all I'm going to get is a grade-school science project!" Clint was pretty ticked, too.
"Look at this!" He said angrily as he shoved a quiver of arrows into Tony's hands to examine. Tony pulled one out, and noted the suction cup at the end. In fact, all of them were like that. "What am I supposed to do with a freaking kid's toy?! When I catch that scrawny little god, I swear…" Natasha's stealth outfits had all been changed into cheerleader costumes. Steve's suit now sported a British flag, of all things. And from what he heard, Fury had woken up with a closet full of nothing but tricorn hats and double-breasted coats.
"This is ridiculous." Pepper said as she pulled out her cell-phone for Tony to see. He took it in his hands, and noticed something was off; it was big, with bright colors and clunky buttons. That's when he saw the Fisher Price logo at the top. "You have to get him to stop!"
"Aw, come on, Peps! So far it's all been totally harmless. And you have to admit, it's pretty damn funny!"
"Since when are you on his side?" Pepper complained. "Just you wait, you'll change your tune the second you find whatever he has in store for you." That, to be honest, actually scared him a bit. But he continued on as usual, taking care of his business around the tower. He was lying on the couch, trying to see if he could catch a hundred pieces of popcorn in his mouth in a row, when he heard a voice behind him.
"How have you liked my little tricks?" Tony jumped out of his skin at the sound of the trickster god's voice. He turned to face Loki, who was standing at the doorway with a smug look on his face.
"You know everyone's ticked at you, right?" He remarked. Loki shrugged.
"I am the god of mischief, Stark, and it's April fool's day. Do the math."
"Yeah, I get it. One question, though." Loki cocked his head questioningly, and Tony continued. "All these tricks you're pulling, hair dye in Thor's shampoo, baking soda and vinegar in Bruce's lab… they're all so… so eighth grade! From you I expected something… I dunno…"
"Harsher?" Loki finished for him. Somehow Tony felt a bit guilty. Like he'd jumped the gun on judging him. "This is April fool's day. A day for tricks, not for revenge. I wish to have fun, not to punish." Huh… when he put it that way, it actually made a lot of sense.
"So… why didn't you prank me?" He asked.
"Why, you're my friend, Stark! Why would I do that to you?" He said, almost sounding offended. And he disappeared around the corner. Later that day, Tony was working in the laboratory. He was engineering a new suit, supposed to be even more lightweight and compact than any of the previous models.
"Alright Jarvis, I'm ready." He said. In a flash, the suit assembled all over his body. It was working just like he'd hoped. Except for one thing.
My little pony, my little pony,
"What the hell?!" Tony shouted in surprise. The My Little Pony theme song was playing loudly in his ears. "Jarvis, get the suit off!"
"I'm sorry sir, but something isn't allowing me into the suit's programming." Tony tried in vain to cover his ears against the song, but it was playing through the suit itself. And he couldn't take it off. There was one word on his mind; one word only.
"LOKI!"