Peter was going to play air hockey with Loki. That was a part of real life. He tried not to think about it too much. Especially the look in Loki's eyes as Peter explained how to play, pulling the puck out of the hole as the machine whirred to life.
"So you hit the disk into the hole, got it." Loki stood on his half of the table, he tossed his jacket onto a pinball machine and began rolling his sleeves up past his elbows, causing Peter to swallow nervously as he tried not to stare too much. When Loki requested they play against each other, air hockey was the first thing that had come to mind, and already Peter had a feeling he was going to regret it.
"Yep, that's pretty much it. Um, I'm sure this goes without saying, but uh, no magic?"
Loki glanced up from working on his sleeve and gave Peter a dull look, "I highly doubt I'll need magic to win such a rudimentary piece of machinery."
"Yeah," Peter responded with a healthy dose of sarcasm, "just a friendly reminder though that you tried to gut the last game you thought was gonna be easy."
Loki squinted at Peter from across the table, "Let's just play the game, Parker."
Peter was nodding his head quickly in response,"Right, right okay." He sat the disk down in front of him, both of them now leaning over their side of the game, looking intently at each other as the table hummed between them. Peter could feel the anticipation in the air, though he was pretty sure his own adrenalin was just from nervousness, unlike Loki's.
The disk floated in front of him for just a second as he looked back to the piercing green eyes, took a deep breath, and flicked the disk to the side, letting it ricochet perfectly towards the goal, but Loki shot it back just as fast, not holding back, his eyes tracking the puck easily, and before Peter even realized, he was sucked into the game. They went back and forth, neither paying attention to anything around them, their eyes locked on the puck as it flew at incredible speeds. Several minutes had passed before Peter finally landed the puck into Loki's goal slot, and the boy was instantly jumping around and shouting with unabashed glee, a huge grin spread across his face as he pumped his fists in the air.
Loki was glaring as Peter wrapped up his slightly dramatic victory dance, but he was pretty sure Loki was simply trying to hide a smirk of amusement. "That was a lucky shot, kid, but if you so wish to let your ego get the best of you, who am I to get in your way?" Oh yeah, he was definitely smirking underneath the glare, and Peter grinned right back at him.
Loki pulled the puck back out and dropped it onto the table, hitting it straight for Peter. They went again, and again, both getting lost as they scored a point back and forth, each round lasting longer than an average person's would. Peter was still pumped when he got to 6 points, still neck and neck with Loki, but they both knew the next score would settle the game.
"Yeah, enjoy it now, your victory won't last for much longer." Loki said, his voice dripping with a challenge.
"Oh you can't fool me, you're enjoying yourself, just admit it." Peter pointed an accusing finger at Loki, winding down from his latest dance.
"I'll enjoy beating you, if you ever quit jumping around that is."
"Bring it on, old man." Peter smirked as he came back to his spot, leaning into the game as Loki rolled his eyes and pulled the puck back out.
Loki hit it faster than even Peter's eyes could see, and he just barely managed to block it. They went back and forth, Peter could feel the electricity in the air, the moment so intense, his focus on the puck undividable, and then Loki slung the puck with one last hard hit, and Peter's spidey sense set off, and just before the puck could sink into Peter's face, he hit the floor. There was a loud crack, and Peter rolled to his feet effortlessly, spinning around to find the puck lodged into the wall directly behind him.
Peter glanced at Loki, whose face held a small amount of surprise in his raised eyebrows, but mostly he seemed to be looking at our thin walls with disdain; Peter glanced back at the puck in the wall, and he burst into laughter. Loud, robust, grabbing-his-stomach type of laugher, practically falling to the floor.
Loki glared down at Peter, his arms crossed over his chest, "Well I'm glad you're enjoying yourself at least."
Between laughing gasps Peter responded, "You know you're supposed to make it in the hole, right? Not in the wall."
Loki glowered, "Yes I'm aware of how the game works. It's not my fault you mortals have such flimsy equipment." He gestured to the puck in the wall.
Peter grinned as he straightened up, wiping some stray tears from his eyes, "I'm pretty sure that had more to do with your Asgardian strength than faulty equipment, Loki."
Loki hummed in response, still managing to look dignified and above everything and everyone around him. Peter was in awe of the way Loki held himself, always, no matter where he was, he seemed so regal, even now in a closed, dark, cheap arcade, he looked fit to rule a kingdom. "That may be so, though I still think your mortal machinery is absolutely pathetic."
Peter shook his head, a smile still in place as he retrieved the puck out of the wall and threw it back on the table, which was now powered down once again. "Well, why don't we call this one a draw? I'm afraid this hockey table is on it's last leg with us around. Besides, I have a great idea." Peter tried his best to hide his anxiety, he tried to look as relaxed and at ease as Loki seemed, but he was sure it was no use; his nervousness always found a way to leak out of his body. He finally stopped fussing and just spit the words out, "I was thinking we could play Dance Dance Revolution."
"Are you asking me to dance, Parker?" That mischievous glint was back, lighting up Loki's already gorgeous bright green eyes, and the corner of his mouth lifted in that smirk that could cut steel.
Peter's stomach flipped, and he pretty much accepted that this was going to happen all the time if Loki always talked like that, and looked at him like that. "What, no! That's not- I didn't- there's not even anywhere to dance, not like that, I mean it's an arcade! I definitely didn't mean dancing with me, like that. Not that I'm against that, I just hadn't meant that kind of thing, I wouldn't even know where to go for that, you know? I mean-" Peter finally cut off for a breath, and brought his gaze back to Loki's, just watching him intently, not seeming annoyed or judging, just listening. Peter felt his face go warm with embarrassment. "Just, follow me." Peter turned and led the way through the arcade, trying not to replay that word vomit over and over again in his head. "This is Dance Dance Revolution."
Loki strode around the front of the large flashing game, examining it with that same unimpressed look he always wore. He finally turned his gaze back to Peter's, "Well, it does look slightly less primitive than the other games."
Peter couldn't help the small smile, but he still managed to roll his eyes at the typical answer. He found himself genuinely enjoying Loki's slightly judgmental attitude; the dry humour and contempt he had for everything was fun, but Peter wasn't sure many others would feel the same. "You talk a lot of shit for someone who hasn't won a single game tonight."
Loki glowered at Peter, "I would have won the hockey game if your planet didn't have such cheap materials."
"Sure, let's just try not to break anything this time, do you think that's manageable?"
"You know I'm the God of Mischief right, breaking things is kind of what I do."
Peter glanced at him as he punched things into the game, Loki leaning languidly against the machine, his dark hair falling around his face perfectly, his sharp eyes watching everything, taking in every detail of Peter. "Oh, I'm well aware." His voice came out quietly, like he was out of breath. He watched Loki's smile stretch across his sculpted face, and Peter shook his head slightly and forced his gaze back on the screen.
Focus, Peter, Jesus what is wrong with you tonight? He tried to shake the weird feeling clinging to him, he felt like his heart had hit the bottom of his stomach and was lost for good. He managed to enter all of their info and proceeded to coach Loki in the basics of the game, who of course was eventually waving him off and assuring him he easily understood such basic concepts.
Peter started the game up, hopping around slightly to get warmed up, his blood thrumming with excitement. Peter loved this stuff, anything that allowed him to get out all of his pent up energy. From dancing to gymnastics, any of it where his mind melted away and his body took over, the muscles moving of their own accord and he could just lose himself in the feeling.
The music took off, and Peter was bouncing, quickly and gracefully from one foot to the other, hitting the buttons perfectly and keeping his body loose and relaxed while he did it. He had to work hard to focus on his own screen and not turn all of his attention to watch Loki, but he was able to catch glimpses of him. He seemed to be keeping up okay, but the concept was something that took a minute to get the hang of, even for a very talented god.
"I hope we can still be friends when I win!" Peter called over the loud music, a small smile pulling at the corners of his mouth.
"That's big talk coming from a child" Even without looking at him, Peter could hear the smirk in his tone, and he loved every second of this, the thrill of the challenge, the way his heart beat extra hard when he looked into those gleaming green eyes, the way the world seemed to be asleep and only they existed here, in this infinite night together.
The scores dinged on the screen, and Loki was finally seeming to get a hang of the whole thing, not needing long to catch on and learn the semantics of the game. Peter couldn't help himself any longer and he stole a glance over at the God, watching his slim body move on the dance floor. He stepped over all the right spots, turning and jumping perfectly. and surprisingly putting his own flare on some of the moves, his focus undividable from the screen. Peter was not so focused, as only this small glance at Loki completely threw him off of his game, he felt his insides flip, and then the noises faded to the background as he let his smile spread and watched Loki, who looked so happy, his guard gone and his eyes full of light, he couldn't look away, more importantly, he didn't want to.
But when Loki seemed to realize what was happening, he shot Peter a strange look, and Peter snapped back to himself all at once, he spun his gaze toward the game as he felt his cheeks heating up.
The game was coming to a close, and luckily Peter was just edging back to first place since he'd so carelessly fell behind. The adrenaline was coursing fast now, he tuned out everything but the screen in front of him and let his body completely take over for him. And just as the song wound down, the last steps flashed across the screen, and Peter nailed the ending.
The screen compared their scores, and Peter whooped with joy as he edged past Loki by a handful of points, Peter jumped in the air, fists pumping above his edge, his heart pumping loud now that he's stopped dancing so vigorously. He finally locked eyes with Loki, who had been watching him quietly, and he thought he caught an odd look on his face, but before he could identify it, his features shifted into a mocking look of irritation. Peter ignored it, thinking he was just too hopped up and seeing things incorrectly, he continued to whoop with joy as he looked at the annoyed God.
The heat of the room finally managed to pierce through Peter's awareness, he could feel the sweat under his suit, his hair sticking to his forehead and his pulse pounding in his neck, but he didn't care about any of it, didn't have a single care in the world as he stood there, beaming at Loki, even as the trickster scowled at him. Peter would happily spend his days being scowled at by Loki.
His heart seems to skip a beat at the thought and he nervously runs a hand through his messy hair, his smile turning sheepish. "So, um yeah, that's the game! You didn't do too bad for your first time, ya know."
"Hmm, and to think I was really hoping to be regarded as the best of your Midgardian arcades, your people would likely have worshiped me as their king shortly thereafter." Loki said dryly.
"Are you sure you aren't the God of Overactive Imagination?"
"You'd be surprised how often imagination and mischief go hand in hand." His tone seemed to drip with some other meaning Peter couldn't grasp, the way Loki's gaze seemed to be sizing him up set his already frayed nerves on fire.
Peter let out a feathery chuckle, sounding much less confident than he wanted to, "Well, let me give you some pointers then." He walked around so he stood in front of Loki, the God still watching him curiously. "Okay, you obviously know how to dance already, you've got all the basics down now."
Peter ignored the look on Loki's face, the raised eyebrow, the corner of his mouth pulling up in that damned smirk, his emerald eyes dancing with sharp amusement, okay so Peter ignored his whole face and kept focused on his own instructions.
"You have to keep your body loose, just relax, let your body take over the movements, and keep your mind focused on the screen, move lightly, jumping from foot to foot quickly, and don't get wrapped up in the beats you miss, you can't fix your past mistakes, just move forward." Even while trying to ignore him, Peter saw Loki's gaze sharpen in the corner of his eye and he cleared his throat before continuing, "Okay, follow with me, come on!"
Peter stood in front of Loki and imitated the game movements, looking almost like he was in a boxer pose as he lightly bounced on his feet. He was watching Loki move with him for a bit, they were bouncing in the same rhythm, Loki keeping up easily. Peter sped up, trying to see how long they could keep this up, and his gaze slipped up Loki, finding its way to his smug face, staring intently at him as well. They sped up, the air in the room taking on a tension Peter wasn't sure he'd ever felt before, the only sound in the room was their heavy breathing as they continued bouncing around. Their reverie caused a chill to race up Peter's spine, and he was the first one to break away from their little mock dance off.
"Okay, I think you've got that covered…" He walked around the machine, using his shortness of breath as an excuse to avoid more eye contact.
"So, rematch?" Peter wondered if everything Loki said held a challenge, or if he saved it for Peter alone. "Or are you too afraid of my newfound arcade prowess?"
Peter let out a surprised laugh as he found his way back onto his platform, "Bring it on."
"All hail the King of the Arcade!" Peter exclaimed as he lifted Loki's hand, pretending to present him to a nonexistent audience, even making roaring noises and providing the commentary as well.
Loki held his same amused look as the younger one bounced around excitedly. This really hadn't been how the God imagined spending his night, and he really ought to have left by now, if he were being honest, he shouldn't have gone anywhere near this kid, he should've gotten the hell out of dodge the moment Peter showed up at the bar, But Loki was never good at doing what he was supposed to.
When Peter finally settled down he looked at Loki expectantly, "So, what do you think? Exclusive arcade expeditions are pretty fun, right?"
"I'm not sure I'd call it an expedition, but it wasn't too bad… For Midgard." Loki let the corners of his mouth turn into a small smile as the boy seemed to beam at him.
Peter glanced behind Loki, and then he did a double take, "Shit! It's that late already? If we don't get back soon Tony will probably send out a search party." Peter began frantically looking around for his mask, looking panicked and going a mile a minute. Loki leaned back and enjoyed the scene.
"Crap crap crap… Hey." He whipped back around to look at Loki with a disarming gaze that made Loki itch to do something, though he wasn't sure what, "How did you sneak out anyway? Do you think they know you're out?" The color drained from his already stricken face, "You don't think Tony knows we're out.. Right?"
Loki was tempted to make Peter sweat about it a little bit, just to hear that high pitched frayed voice of his again, but he dismissed it as too easy. "Highly unlikely, the illusion I left would fool my own brother, and anyhow if Tony knew we were missing I'm certain we'd have heard from him by now."
"Right, right, you're right of course." Peter continued to scramble around and unplug the machines, careful to avoid the only camera positioned on the cash register, and in general looking as though he were close to losing his dinner. Loki finally took pity and cast a small spell, unplugging everything and even flipping the breakers so it all looked exactly as it had when they arrived.
Peter jerked to a stop and his shoulders seemed to lose a bit of their tension, and Loki did another spell to call the spider mask to him from its place atop the air hockey machine.
"Looking for this?" Loki tossed it over to Peter, who caught it easily, even in the dark as they were.
"Uh, yeah… Thanks." Peter played with the edge of his mask before finally slipping it on. Loki held out a hand to him, unable to stop himself from doing whatever he could to gain the beautiful look of surprise from the smaller boy, the look of pure awe that he glimpsed as they flew through the city. Even as a raven Loki could see the shock and the wonder in his bright eyes, and he felt certain that he could happily drown in those eyes. Peter seemed to turn a bit timid, but he reached out and took Loki's hand anyhow.
"Shall we go home?"