I want to apologise for how long this chapter has taken me, there's been a lot of stuff going on at the moment both very personal and otherwise but that is no excuse. I will try and get these chapters out quicker but there is no guarantee though I can promise I will never abandon a story no matter how long it takes me to write each chapter!
Chapter 14
After getting home late the next morning, because they had all decided to crash at Clint's, Loki went straight to bed, not having got much sleep. During the process of falling asleep though, he was bombarded with thought after thought from the night before, all of which concerning Tony. Obviously they kept quite what was shared between them in the cupboard, not wanting to have caused a riot or something and they had had enough of seeing the smug expressions on both Clint's and Natasha's faces lately to give them any more reason to brag. But they still managed to steal odd moments just for them like lingering brushes of their hands, or sitting closer than was probably necessary when they all tried to squeeze on Clint's two sofas.
As the memories came back Loki couldn't help but grin. Finally something was going well. Finally things looked like they would be okay. Tony liked him. Life was good. With that repeating in his head, sleep took him into its welcoming embrace and carried him off to a carefree land. By the time he woke up, the sun was once again making its slow decent below the horizon and he realised he had slept all day.
Groaning while he sat up, he stretched each of his limbs accordingly feeling the joints pop and crack as they got used to being moved again. He headed downstairs to the kitchen where he found leftover pasta from dinner (courtesy of Frigga who had probably had to wrestle it away from Thor so he didn't eat the lot) and put it into the microwave, heating it for a few minutes before settling at the table. He ate slowly, spearing the shells up by one each time, placing them in his mouth, chewing then swallowing. Though it may appear to others that he was terribly bored by the process the pasta actually tasted amazing and he eagerly awaited the next mouthful. He just lacked the energy to speed the process up and, after all, he preferred to savour his food.
"Did you have fun last night? I would have asked earlier but you went straight to bed," Frigga asked, appearing in the doorway. She had probably heard the noise in the kitchen and wondered who it was.
"Yeah, I enjoyed it, particularly seeing everyone in their ridiculous costumes."
"I'm sure they weren't that bad," his mother laughed. "Yours was nice."
He nodded his thanks, continuing to eat. They talked for a little while longer, mostly about school work and other mundane topics but Loki still enjoyed it. It was nice to have someone take an interest in him so he always seized the opportunities when they arose seeing as he didn't know when they would happen again. Frigga was the only one who ever asked questions or tried to converse with him past small talk, no one else made the effort.
When he finally made the long journey back upstairs to his bed, he collapsed on the cover thinking that perhaps it wasn't the time to get more sleep. Pulling up his laptop from under his bed, he opened the screen and switched it on. At the same moment his phone buzzed, the display lighting up announcing he had a message.
Pick you up at 12 for coffee?
He had almost completely forgotten that he and Tony actually had a date planned for the next day, not that either of them would admit to it being called that. They were very difficult people. And this point was only proved further when you realised it has taken them two months to admit they even have a crush on eachother.
Perfect, I look forward to it was Loki's reply.
He didn't want to say anymore because he didn't want to seem too eager or desperate, however he didn't want to just reply with okay or something along those lines because that was blunt and showed little emotion. At least Tony now knew that he was the right amount of excited and not verging on ecstatic or crazy.
Not too long later Loki fell back asleep and woke up early the next morning feeling surprisingly rested. Until, that is, he remembered his rather important date with Tony. Stumbling out of bed he threw himself into the bathroom to begin getting ready. This could take a long time.
By the time that twelve rolled around Loki had showered twice, restyled his hair half a dozen times and changed clothes a near ten times. He ran down stairs just before the clock struck twelve, finding one of his many jackets in the coat closet by his front door.
"You seem pretty nervous for just meeting up with a friend, are you sure it's only platonic?"
Loki jumped at the sound of his mother's voice having not noticed that she was standing behind him. He turned to look at her, noticing the look of amusement on her face.
"I am certain mother."
"Really? Well for one thing you didn't look me in the eye when you said that and from what I've been told, that is a clear sign that someone isn't telling the truth. Another thing, I just passed by your door while you were getting ready and could have sworn you changed clothes far more times than necessary during which time you used a lot of colourful language which, for today, I will choose to ignore, though I hope to never hear you use those words within my hearing range again."
At least Loki had the decency to look slightly sheepish. He didn't like lying to his mother but seeing as she knew he was lying it didn't really make him feel as bad as he probably should. Luckily his phone buzzing saved him from actually having to form a reply. The text was very quick, only announcing that Tony was outside. Loki sent off a quick reply saying that he would be there in a second. Instead of leaving the house though, he continued to stand in his hallway.
"Don't you need to leave?" Frigga asked, raising an eyebrow at her son.
"In a minute...I'm just ehh...getting ready."
"Right," she nodded, trying to stop the laughter bubbling inside her as she just watched Loki stand still. "You really seem like you have a lot to still get ready."
"Okay, I'm ready. See you later," Loki called over his shoulder, finally breaking out of his reverie and heading for the front door.
Just as his hand was turning the door handle he heard Frigga say goodbye. "I hope you have fun with your friend."
Even though Loki was terribly distracted by the thought that he was actually about to go out with Tony, he still picked up on his mothers tone. He knew he hadn't fooled her in the slightest, she knew exactly what he was doing but luckily she respected his privacy enough to allow him to reveal it in his own time. Still, as he closed the door behind a chuckling Frigga, he was pretty sure he had just made a twat of himself.
As he approached Tony's car the nerves increased tenfold until he worried that the butterflies in his stomach were real and about to fly up his throat and escape out through his mouth. It was incredibly unfair that when he laid eyes on Tony the man had an easy smile on his face, looking totally relaxed in his leather seat. When he saw Loki his smile grew wider and he reached across the passenger seat to open the door for him.
"Good morning," Loki greeted, attempting to appear much calmer than he felt. His heart was still beating a mile a minute.
"I'm not quite sure it's morning anymore Sunshine, but never mind," Tony replied cheerily.
"Oh right, well, hello anyway," Loki said, slightly embarrassed.
"Hi...you ready to go?"
The black haired man nodded and then they were pulling away from the curb ready to join the rest of the traffic following the route slowly into town. As the car hummed along Loki relaxed quickly and fell into easy conversation with Tony.
His fingers drummed agitatedly against the wheel as he watched him approach the car. Stealing himself one large deep breath, he fixed a smile and opened the door for Loki. Despite his nerves he couldn't help but marvel at the wonder that was Loki. The man beside him always managed to look so good no matter what he wore and it was exceptionally unfair. How had Tony never noticed how attractive men could be earlier?
They started with short greetings which carried them through into a conversation. By the time they reached the place they were to have coffee, Tony was totally at ease and was wondering why he had even been freaking out in the first place.
After ordering drinks, both black coffees though Loki added two sugars to his, they took seats at a table in the corner where the chairs were comfier and they were far less likely to be disturbed. Tony had insisted upon paying which irritated Loki but he was consoled when Tony said that he could pay next time. The idea of repaying the debt was good but the thing that made Loki smile the most was that Tony had said there would be a next time. They had barely even started their date and yet he was already planning their next. It was a good day.
"So I think we should get all the cliché things out the way first."
"Like what things?" Loki asked, lightly blowing on his drink to cool it.
"Twenty questions, learn as much as we can of the basic stuff, likes, dislikes, hobbies, weird shit we're into. That kind of stuff."
He laughed at that. "I'm not sure about the weird shit but yeah the rest sounds good."
"Alight then," Tony said, shifting in his seat to get more comfortable. "First off favourite colour?"
"Green probably, but I also like gold and silver. You?"
"Very exotic," Tony commented. "Mine's red and I like gold too."
"It's like we're meant to be," Loki said quietly as a joke not meaning for it to be heard. A burst of laughter from across the table followed his words and he couldn't help but chuckle along.
It was just so easy to talk, to carry on the conversation no matter how mundane it was asking for basic information. Neither of them complained once. Both had had doubts about how comfortable they would be together but there was no awkwardness between them. The hours passed, another order of drinks got in, and they were still talking.
They'd covered favourite foods, drinks and animals, what superpower they would want, their plans for the future. Everything basic was covered by the time that Tony checked the time and they realised they had been sitting in the coffee shop for almost three hours.
"Perhaps we should leave," Loki suggested after he saw the time. "We could just walk around for a while or something?"
"Sounds good," Tony agreed.
They left promptly, entering out into the weak November sunlight and both doing up their jackets to help stop the cold. They walked aimlessly, not really caring where they went, once again deep in conversation. It was nice to be away from school or their friends for a change. It was far easier to be together and talk properly when you didn't have Clint, Natasha and now, apparently, Darcy breathing down your neck.
"So I've had a question for a while now but I've never really felt like the right opportunity has ever presented itself for me to ask. Now, though, I feel that this is a good time."
"What's your question?" Loki asked, having absolutely no idea what to expect.
"You know the night of my party where we both got really pissed and ended up in bed together?"
"I am familiar with it, yes."
"Well we both know why I drank myself into oblivion, it was because of Pepper, but you've never said why you did? At first I thought he maybe just really like alcohol but now I'm not so sure."
"Oh," Loki mouthed, unable to form any other words at present. Composing himself, he continued, trying to lighten the situation after the brief awkwardness that occurred, "oh right, well basically it was because I was really angry and getting so drunk that I couldn't remember my name seemed like a good idea at the time."
Tony looked as though he wanted to ask why he was so angry but Loki's expression told him that it wasn't the right time. Instead he said, "See if we had been just a little more sober we could have had really hot angry sex...and remembered it."
For a second they just stared at each other, not talking. Then both of their expression cracked and they dissolved into fits of laughter. The joke really hadn't been that funny but they just kept on laughing. Perhaps it was because of Tony's tone that had sounded dead serious. When the laughter turned silent and died away completely, they were both taking large breaths to calm their breathing and wiping tears from their eyes.
"M-maybe we should be heading back," Loki said at last.
"Yeah I think my balls are starting to freeze," Tony replied, earning him an incredulous look.
"Gosh you're so charming, I don't even know how I resisted you for so long," Loki said, very sarcastically.
"It's called denial," Tony supplied helpfully, unlocking the car and opening Loki's door before going round to get in on the driver's side.
The drive back was quick despite the traffic and, in what felt like seconds, the car was stopping on the curb by Loki's house. When the engine was turned off, all that remained was silence. It was neither as inviting or as comfortable as it had been earlier yet neither of them had any idea of what to say. In the end it was Loki who stepped up, deciding to play it safe.
"Thankyou for the coffee," he said, loving the way Tony's mouth curved up slightly into a half smile. "We really should do this again...soon."
"I look forward to it."
Silence fell again as they stared at each other. Nothing moved inside the car except the rise and fall of their chests as they took each breath. At this point Tony was very aware of Loki's eyes boring into his. He felt slightly exposed and vulnerable but in a good way. He didn't feel nervous, more excited. He was also very aware of the way Loki occasionally licked his lips. He doubted it was deliberate, probably just out of habit, but it was still very distracting. Tony really wanted to see what else that tongue could do.
While both were lost in thoughts that revolved around the same topic, they were oblivious to the fact that they were moving closer, millimetre by millimetre, until they were only a few centimetres apart. Their brains suddenly clicked into motion and the anticipation mounted as they closed the gap between them. Just as their lips were about to brush, however, there was a loud ringing sound and they both jumped apart.
It took a moment to figure out what the noise was. Then Loki pulled his phone from his pocket and let out an extremely frustrated sigh that had a few curses mixed in as well.
"I'm sorry, I forgot to put it on silent," he gabbled, hurrying to decline the call. He really didn't want to speak to Natasha right now, not after what she had just unintentionally interrupted. It may have been by accident but he would still blame her.
"No, it's cool. I just-"
"I should probably go," Loki said, accidently talking over Tony.
"-Uh yeah..."
They stared at each other once again before Loki leant in quickly, pressed a short kiss to the corner of Tony's mouth then exited without a backwards glance. Only when he reached his front door did he think to look back. He met Tony's eye one last time and smiled, turning once again to unlock his door. As he closed it behind him he heard the sound of Tony's engine revving into life. When he looked back for the second time, he saw the car disappearing round the corner.
"Where have you been brother? Was that not Tony Stark's car?"
Damn it Thor. Could he not have one second's peace before he was bombarded with questions?
"I went out and yes that was Tony's car," he said curtly.
He attempted to walk past Thor and escape upstairs but the huge blonde insisted upon accompanying him.
"You were out together? I didn't know you were such close friends."
"Well apparently we are," Loki grumbled, his exasperation increasing with every step. "All we did was get coffee."
From behind his back Thor had an odd expression on his face. The longer he thought, the more he started to make sense of the situation and more and more, another possibility presented itself. Unfortunately, Loki had his back resolutely turned to his brother meaning he didn't witness Thor putting two and two together. The blonde really wasn't as stupid, nor as oblivious, as most people assumed.
As Thor said goodbye to Loki as the other's bedroom door closed, he smiled to himself. Maybe, just maybe. If this were true, if what he thought was true, then hopefully it would work out well. This could be a very good thing.
Safely shut away in his room, or rather safely shut away from Thor, Loki phoned Natasha back. She answered on the first ring, obviously having anticipated his call.
"Why did you-" She began but was cut off by Loki's loud cry of, "What the hell is wrong with you?"
"I'm sorry?" She asked, perplexed by his tone. "I was just calling to ask how your date went."
After he and Tony had agreed to meet, Loki had texted Natasha. She was his best friend after all and it was kind of because of all her meddling that they had reached the point of going out together anyway.
"It was going really well until your call interrupted."
"What? You were still out with him? I called then because I thought you would have been home for ages ."
"No, we spent like all afternoon together and just as he dropped me off at my house we were about to, you know, kiss or something and your call interrupted it!" He cried, his voice rising then lowering in volume very quickly. He really didn't want any of his family members listening in or asking questions as to why he was shouting.
"Oh shit I'm sorry but I didn't realise you were going to be out so long." A muffled it's okay from Loki followed her words. He sounded pretty miserable. "Look on the bright side, apart from my impeccable timing, you had a good time?"
"Yeah, I did and I think he did as well."
"He did," a familiar voice called through the line, the words coming through more quietly because he was far away.
"Sorry that was Clint, he's listening to everything we say. I hope that's cool," Natasha said and Loki could hear the fond smile that was very likely plastered on her face right then. Their relationship, that is to say hers and Clint's, had really grown quickly. It was rather sweet actually. "Look if you wanna talk to Loki why don't you just ask," she said, this time speaking to Clint.
There was a crackling sound, some silence and then Clint's voice again, this time coming clearly down the line. "Hey dude, yeah all I wanted to say was Tony just text me and he said everything was great, he enjoyed himself, he really likes you yadda yadda yadda, you get the point. Alright Nat you can have the phone back now."
Again the noises came until they were stopped by Natasha's voice. "See no need for making out when you have a first successful date under your belt. Now all you need to do is prepare for the second."
"Right, yeah, I'll do that. But for now I'm gunna go-"
"What? Go cry into your pillow at the wonder that is Tony Stark?"
"No, no and no. God just get back to your boyfriend 'Tasha while I'll go find the courage to actually ask Tony to be mine."
The beginnings of Natasha awwing him and telling him how cute he was was enough to convince him to hang up. It wasn't that he didn't want to talk to her, but for one thing she was busy somewhere with Clint and he didn't want to interrupt and secondly, it was true, he actually did need to find the courage to ask out Tony properly. The thought of calling him his boyfriend welled up inside him and filled him with a warm mix of comfort and excitement.
For today the worrying about asking could wait. Instead he would much rather lie down and think about the very successful date that he had just had.
Hope you enjoyed, please review?! :)
