Rating: T

Genre: Modern/Non-Magical AU, Humor, Romance

Summary: Loki and Jane are becoming a problem in scientific circles. Tony Stark has a plan to fix it.

A/N: In jest, averbaldumpingground challenged me to write all 20 prompts from a fake dating list. Well, joke's on my friend, I accepted the challenge. I'm doing 500-word ficlets for each, using different fandoms/ships.

3. "I think they bought it. We can leave now." "No way, this was just 5 minutes and I have a reputation to uphold."

LOCKED IN

Jane paced by the door, throwing an occasional glare in the direction of the bane of her academic existence. Loki lounged on the queen-sized bed, hands laced behind his head. He smirked as if amused they'd been thrown into this ridiculous situation. As if it hadn't been his fault.

It began with the panel on Traversable Wormhole Dynamics earlier this afternoon. Debate devolved into a shouting match that culminated into both of them being escorted out after she stood on a chair to punctuate her points with a finger jabbed in Loki's chest—and the bastard jabbed her right back!

Next came the invitation from Tony Stark to attend one of his elite mixers. She'd been thrilled; she'd watched Bruce Banner's career skyrocket through his association with the muti-billionaire, and she couldn't wait for her own work to gain the same kind of traction. Her enthusiasm died within minutes of her arrival when she laid eyes on Loki. He'd been invited too. Great.

She tried—really tried—to be civil during the small soirée. She could have succeeded too if Loki hadn't been bent on hanging by her elbow the entire time, ready with some self-congratulatory rebuttal to everything she said. Next thing she knew, her fist was cocked and aimed at Loki's stupid face when Tony interrupted.

"I want to show you something—both of you." He headed toward a hallway.

She exchanged a glance with Loki before scrambling after Tony. Loki was on her heels, and she resisted the urge to elbow him in the gut. A couple of turns later, Tony opened a door to…a guest room? He gestured for them to enter.

"You two need to take care of this tension," he said and then locked them in!

After what felt like hours, she decided she was done with this. "He's got to let us out of here now."

Loki checked his watch, shook his head. "It's been twenty minutes. That's not nearly enough time."

She snorted at his implications. "Yeah, right. I bet it only takes you five."

The look he gave her made her skin prickle. It was a different kind of wild than when they argued over academic minutia. "Foster, you've no idea." He rose from the bed and crossed the room toward her, his voice deeper, quieter as he murmured, "Tell me you've never thought about it."

Of course she never—well, there were the dreams, but those didn't count. She raised her chin. "I haven't."

He grinned as if he didn't believe her. "I have."

Was it hot in here? It was definitely getting warmer. "You have?" She had no idea where that question came from because she didn't want to know. Not even a little bit.

He hummed in agreement, now so close she caught the faint scent of his aftershave. "I have so many theories." He glanced at her mouth. "Let's test them all."

Before she could object, his lips were over hers, and dammit.

Maybe Tony was right.

~FIN~

A/N: Thank you so much for reading! If you are inclined, I'd love to hear your thoughts!