Loki grasped the edges of his hardboard folder, reading over for the millionth time. Bishop was a man hard to please to say the least, it wasn't just Loki who shared this thought though, the woman who he sat by, Jane, she didn't like the teacher either. From the first convocation they had Loki knew she wouldn't let him go as easily as the other woman had in the past. She was young and inexperienced but a genius in her own ranking; she could never match some of the others psychological skills, but her head was in the clouds and the stars most of the time. He was brought out of his thoughts when a screwed up ball of paper collided with his cheek. He glared over the library desk to the younger girl who was smiling and urging him to open the bundle in silence. He rolled his eyes, opening the sheet of paper to find her writing in the corner.
'Is it true you threw a knife at Tony S? xxx'
He frowned at her, pulling out a pen from his bag and replying in angelic handwriting.
'If you're referring to the dark haired man with the Iron Maiden shirt on, yes I did but it was an accident.'
He folded in neatly, passing it to her gently. He watched as she read it, a smile widening across her jawline and her dark eyes widening. She leant over the desk; her knee's falling onto the wooden surface as her hands reached to Loki.
"The Tony Stark, Do you have any idea what force you're dealing with?" The two were hushed by the old librarian that was watching them, her arms crossed as she glared at Jane's immaturity. The two students rolled their eyes; but Jane took that as a queue to jump over the table, sitting by the taller man in the spare chair, ignoring the librarian's glare and gawking expression. "Loki you don't understand!" She slapped his shoulder softly, tucking her legs under the chair and resting her head on her arm, allowing some of the brown locks to fall.
"Jane…he's just a boy. Calm yourself."
"Oh Jane calm yourself-no I won't!" She mocked in a terrible British accent. She pointed a finger to Loki, mere inches from his skin, "Here's my point, Stark is a notorious flirt and romancer, he has eyes for you Loki Smith and he will get what he wants." This earned them another shush from the old woman. Loki sighed, closing his book and turning to face his friend fully.
"Trust me…He's not interested."
"But are you interested?" Loki didn't say anything; he bit the inside of his cheek instead, holding back what he wanted to say but Jane read him like an open book. "I knew it!" Loki filled his lungs ready to answer but was cut off short.
"Jane was right? Why that is a miracle." The two looked to their right; Loki found it difficult to find air as Jane's face twisted into pure happiness. The shorter man hardly registered as he pulled out a spare seat next to Loki. "Mind if I join you?" He didn't wait for an answer as he twisted the chair around, straddling the plastic chair and resting his arms on the back board. He chewed on his gum with loud lips, his unseen eyes looking down on the book in front of him.
"Actually Stark…" Loki looked to his friend with a soft glare, where was she going with this? "I have to go, but Loki is staying most of the night." Loki's face burnt red as his soft glare evolved into pure hate. She skipped away; her head held high as she giggled. Loki sighed, running his hands over his face; it was going to be a long night.
"If you're taking the same course as me, why are you here so late?" Stark had given up on revision after a few minutes of arrival, instead he made every attempt possible to get Loki's attention and have someone to talk to. Loki was fighting back every urge to talk back; he needed to revise for the test tomorrow. The public library was dimly lit; the old librarian had turned in for the night, giving the job of locking up to Loki and Stark. Loki looked up to the man, his finger pushing hard against the cover of his book.
"Bishop said we have a test tomorrow." Tony snorted, ripping the pages out of his books and scrunching them into fist sized-balls.
"Since when does anybody listen to that old man?" One of the paper balls hit Loki's forehead, he took that as his cue to fall back down to his book.
"Well, I do want to pass Stark." He ran his finger down the spine of the book.
"You should chill out; it's not the end of the world if you fail." Loki closed the psychological book, looking up at the boy who was failing rather miserably to aim for the bin. The look of determination on his face made Loki laugh shyly, though physically he looked nothing like Thor, he was almost identical on personality levels. Stark noticed the lanky man laughing to himself; he sat back, crossing his legs and giving up on the ball game he played with himself, he pulled down his glasses, revealing brown, almost black eyes that took Loki back slightly. "What's so funny?" Loki shrugged, throwing the book onto the table. Stark span so his legs fell over the desk side, then rather childishly he swung his legs waiting for an answer, Loki watched him for a moment, taking in the sight before laughing dryly.
"You just remind me of my brother…"
"That's the Thor one right?" Loki nodded, taking his own glasses and chewing on the end in thought, he pulled back on his chair till the front two legs left the floor, taking his legs and dropping them onto the table instead, crossing them delicately next to Stark's sides. "He doesn't come to the university, no?" Loki shook his head, reaching for one of the screwed up balls. "How come…?" Loki rolled it in his hands, thinking of Starks question for a second.
"We have different interests, while he prefers fine dining and wooing the ladies, I prefer more solitude activities." Tony laughed drying, resting his arms on his thighs.
"I guess I am like him then…" Loki lined up his shot and threw the ball; it hit the inside of the bin perfectly. A small amount of satisfaction rested in his stomach as Tony nodded, impressed no doubt. "Nice shot."
"Thank you. What about you, don't you have brothers or sisters?"
"Nah, I was an accident. They made extra careful not to have another." the words hit Loki like a knife to his stomach. "Yeah I have serious Daddy issues if you couldn't tell, didn't mean to ruffle your feathers Smith." Tony raised his eyebrows for a moment, his lips twitching uncomfortably.
"That makes two of us." Tony looked down on the man, a questionable look on his face, asking silently for more information. "My father and I have never seen eye to eye on things, I respect him but I have never had a love like he has for my older brother…" Loki sighed, looking to the only window in the large library; a few stars were out across the blackened skies. He knew somewhere his father could hear him, the disappointment would be grave. Tony coughed lightly, reshuffling so his thigh pressed against Loki's foot.
"So let me get this straight, you're taking a course in one of the highest classes of America and your Dad can't show the slightest amount of love for you? Geez he sounds as bad as my dad…" His gaze snapped back to Stark, the words of his mouth were not rich with sarcasm for once, like he genially cared for the mental state of Loki. He smiled weakly, gaining a weak smile back. He nudged Tony's side with his booted foot, catching the man's attention.
"…Thank you for listening to my grief." Tony nodded and laughed softly, stretching his leg so it tapped Loki's hip with the same softness as Loki patted him just a moment before.
"You're welcome." Loki laughed lightly as Tony began to tap his pen against the toe of Loki's boot. "What's that?" Tony fell to the floor picking up a book from under Loki's chair, he sat back on the table wielding to Loki's dismay, his spell book.
Loki shot up quickly, practically jumping across Tony's lap to get the book back but Tony was too fast; stretching is arm away from Loki's grip and wedging the book open to a full page of Loki's writing's.
"Tony, stop! Give it back!" He went to stand, but Tony wrapped his free arm around Loki's waist, pinning the demi-God to his thighs. He could only watch in horror as Tony read the fine print.
"-Is this spells? How old are you, five?" He dropped Loki, laughing as the tall man struggled to stand again. "So what, you take a psychological course and you also learn magic?" Loki brushed himself down, looking at the man who skimmed his human fingers across the rustic, stained yellow pages. Stark failed to notice how unique the large book was, with a crimson silk and leather cover, matched with a thin snake skin spine, and bead and bone decorated book mark given to him by his mother a few years ago. The words written could obviously be seen as written with a quill and with a dark green ink in not of this world. If Stark did notice these differences, he showed no sign of acknowledgment.
"…It's part of my religion." Loki lied, gaining a doubtful look from Stark.
"Honey, Magic's for children." Loki made no attempt to take the book from him now, so stood a foot or two away as the man was engulfed in the writing.
"Even though I do learn psychology, I love learning the magic of my ancestors and the adventures they went on were…spectacular to read." He held the book just out of Loki's reach.
"Would you care to give a demonstration?" Loki reached for the book, his fingertips just reaching it as he snatched it with greedy hands. He slipped in between Starks legs as he got his book back. When he went to move, Tony crushed his hips with his knees, pinning the god between them.
"What would you have me do?" Loki didn't know why he asked such a question; he had no intention of using his magic. Tony shrugged softly, rubbing his thumb over his fingers from the sudden loss of the book.
"I don't know, a potion maybe?"
"What would I get out of this?" Loki smiled flirtatiously, folding the book shut. Tony thought for a moment, weighing his options in front of him.
"Alright Loki, let's make a bet. I bet that the potion you make won't work." Tony slipped down off the table, his chest pressed up against Loki's. His warm breath trailed across Loki's bare neck and across the width of his shoulders. "If the potion doesn't and it wont, you will attend a black tie event for my father's business in a month's time and if by some means it does work…I will buy you anything, regardless of the price or what it is. Sound fair?" Loki smiled, knowing his potions always work; he couldn't help but imagine what he could get, even though he has no real means of human possessions, yet the thought still made him excited.
"Okay Mr Stark…" Loki took a step back, holding out a hand. "You have a deal." Tony accepted the handshake, both men supporting cocky grins.