A/N: Urk. My brain: it is mush. Author's note: it is long.
Been asked to provide a cover for a mythology anthology by Gray Haven Comics. I soooo just wanted to stick Loki in there somehow but didn't get a chance. *le sigh* Still. Apparently the art directors over at GH loved it, so... yay? It'll be up on my deviantART account (link in my profile!) soon-ish, and in the interim, you can amuse yourself with a new painting of Thor and Loki I just posted. Whee?
ALSO! You guys need to check out "All This Time" by musician'sluck2010. The story is based on one of my prompts and is essentially as follows:
"When Loki meets Sherlock Holmes, he's immediately drawn to the genius mortal. But, like all humans, Holmes dies and Loki asks Hela to bring him back. Loki is shocked to discover who Holmes is reincarnated as."
Because I fangirl Sherlock Holmes when I'm not fangirling Loki. Or Tony. NOW GO READ.
Smell the Coffee
What Loki needed, he decided, was to put the humiliation of living as a house pet behind him as soon as possible. His plan was to fall back into his old routine and avoid Tony Stark for at least a few centuries. But with his magic still at a low ebb, returning to his former routine was far more difficult than he had expected.
Loki slunk back to his apartment and found everything sheathed in a fine layer of dust. He would have to clean everything the old-fashioned way, he knew, but he hadn't the energy. Usually he was too fastidious to allow even the tiniest bit of grime quarter, but today he just curled up on his abandoned couch and stared out the picture window until night turned to day and day turned to night. The air was thick with dust and silence, and Loki felt... numb, in a way that he hadn't since he'd first found out he was a Jotun.
Days passed, then weeks, and Loki started to reacclimate himself to the silence and the solitude. Eventually his magic started to stir, and he stopped thinking about Tony Stark altogether. He started to wander the city again and to scheme, and he felt more like his old self.
It was a Monday. Tony hated Mondays.
More importantly, he hated business meetings that happened to fall on a Monday, especially when he was still at least partly hungover. At least en route, he got a text saying that the meeting had been postponed a half hour. Time enough for coffee, he decided, and thank heaven for small blessings.
Tony instructed his driver to stop at the nearest Starbucks and shuffled through the glass doors. He closed his eyes and breathed in the comforting smell of freshly made coffee. The barrista asked if she could help him.
"Oh my God," she blurted before he could respond. "You're Tony Stark! Oh my God!"
The customers in line behind him were staring at him now and murmuring to each other.
Tony spared the girl an appraising look. She was on the short side with more make-up than was strictly necessary, but she was kind of cute and what she lacked in height she made up for in bust size. Tony gave her an indulgent smile.
"The one and only," he said. If a voice could swagger, Tony's did. "Could you get me a tall vanilla latte, cutie?"
The girl – Brianna, her name tag read – blushed and hid a titter behind her hand. She looked up at him through heavily mascaraed lashes as she started to prepare his order. Tony stepped to the side to let the next customer order.
"God, I love this shift," he heard Brianna whisper to her nearest coworker. Tony stuffed his hands in his pockets and smirked. "Loki and Iron Man in one day! How cool is that?"
Her friend replied with a whispered, "I know, right?"
Tony Stark's brain ground to a halt. "Whoa, hey, what was that?" he blurted, pushing his way back to the counter and leaning over it. The customer trying to order swore at him, but Tony did not care. "Did you say Loki?"
Brianna and her taller, less-endowed friend exchanged meaningful glances before simultaneously turning said glances towards a table by the window. Tony followed their looks and swallowed a less than dignified yelp. There, out of the way, dressed in a well-tailored suit and sipping at a styrofoam cup was Loki. And he was poring over the contents of some trashy magazine with Angelina Jolie on the cover.
Tony froze, still clutching the counter, and wondered what the hell he was supposed to do. He could probably just slink out and pretend that this had never happened, but... Loki. The last time Tony had seen him, they had made out on his couch, and now there he was, his long fingers absently toying with his cup in a way that Tony found thoroughly distracting.
"Mr. Stark?"
Tony blinked and pulled his eyes back to the counter and found little Brianna waving his latte under his nose.
"Loki's here," he said numbly, and Brianna smiled indulgently.
"Yes," she said slowly. "He comes here a lot actually."
"Huh." Tony's hand automatically closed around his coffee. Its heat seeped into the skin of his palm. "H-How often exactly?" He sipped at his latte just to give his hands something to do.
Brianna shrugged. "Not sure, really," she said. "Sometimes he'll be here everyday for weeks and then, poof, he's gone for months at a time. He orders something different every time. If Brian is on, he makes it extra complicated. He actually made Brian cry once. But, you know, he's cute, so. Whatever."
"Yeah," Tony mumbled absently even as the less rational part of his brain – and, really, that was a rather large part of said brain – wanted to tell her to screw off and go find her own God of Mischief.
Tony checked his watch. The meeting could wait.
"Anything else I can get you, Mr. Stark?" Brianna asked, all politeness and smiles. She batted her eyelashes a bit, but Tony did not notice.
"No, thanks," he said automatically. Then, "Wait, yeah, actually. Get me a muffin."
Brianna blinked. "Okay," she said. "What kind?"
Tony opened and closed his mouth a few times. "I don't know," he said. "What kind of muffin does Loki like? He likes muffins, right?" He paused to consider. "Stupid question; everyone likes muffins."
Her painted-on eyebrows shot up towards her hairline. "You're buying Loki a muffin? Like, the crazy, super-hot super-villain that likes to throw you through walls?"
"Yeah," Tony replied. "You know, as a peace offering."
"Uh, okay... I have no idea what kind of muffin he likes, though. I don't remember him ever ordering one."
Tony cursed under his breath. "Well, shit. Okay, just get me one of each then."
"One of... each muffin?"
"Yes."
"Which muffins?"
"All of them."
"You want... all the muffins?"
"Yes. Yes, I do."
"...right." Brianna let out a low whistle and turned towards the pastries. "Would you like a box for those?"
"No, I'm just going to stuff them down my pants. What do you think?"
"Fine," Brianna snapped. She pursed her lips and put together a box.
It was probably not a good idea to antagonize the barrista, but... dammit, she needed to stop shooting glances at Loki like that. Shoo, woman!
Tony paid for his order, tucked the box under his arm, and approached the table by the window. He slid into the seat across from Loki and smiled. Green eyes blinked, then slid up until they met Tony's over the top of the magazine.
"Stark," he said. His voice held only the tiniest stammer of surprise. He dropped the magazine to the table and smoothed one hand over it.
"'Morning, sunshine!" Tony chirped. He nudged the box towards Loki. "Have a muffin!"
Loki blinked. Then blinked again. Then opened his mouth to say something only to close it with an audible click. "You brought me muffins," he said, nonplussed.
"Well, not you specifically," Tony lied. He leaned back in his chair to hide the fact that he was anything but perfectly at ease. "I was just picking some up for the guys, and I figured, well, I didn't get you any cat food, so."
That earned him a huff of laughter from the Trickster, and Tony had to quell the urge to preen. Genuine laughter from Loki was a rare thing, and Tony intended to have it all to himself.
"You do like muffins, don't you?" Tony asked.
Loki looked at him like he was crazy. "Of course," he said in his most condescending voice. "Who doesn't like muffins?"
Tony grinned triumphantly. "That's what I figured."
Loki shook his head and reached for the box, looking askance at the human all the while, and Tony made a mental note that he picked the poppy seed muffin. Tony reached for his own muffin – chocolate with chocolate chip, because he could really use the sugar right about now – if only to keep himself from staring as Loki's lithe fingers peeled back the wrapper and daintily pulled apart the muffin into small pieces to pop into his mouth.
"I figured muffins were a better ice-breaker than 'do you come here often'," Tony said around a mouthful of muffin.
Loki arched an eyebrow and popped another bite into his mouth, pausing to lick a few crumbs off of his thumb. Now that was just not playing fair. "You're right," he said blithely. "'Have a muffin!' is far less awkward."
"Glad you can appreciate my genius."
Another chuckle, and Tony smiled. He watched Loki eat for a bit, getting crumbs all over the table. I miss you, he wanted to say. And not because just he wanted his cat back.
He really should not be sitting here, eating muffins with the enemy. Then again, if Loki had truly ever wished him harm, he had had plenty of opportunities as a cat that he had let slip by.
"It's not the same without a cat in the house, you know," he said, keeping his tone light, teasing.
"Oh, I'm sure Pepper would be happy to sit in your lap and purr." There was an edge and a bitterness to Loki's smile.
Interesting, Tony thought, and he tried not to smirk. "Yeah," he sighed, "but it's not quite the same. Besides I'd much rather have you in my lap." Tony waggled his eyebrows suggestively, and splotches of red sprouted high on Loki's cheeks. The Trickster coughed awkwardly and looked out at the fast-running rivulets the rain left on the window. Tony found himself admiring the pale expanse of neck turned towards him.
"You are many things, Tony Stark," he said, "but you are far from subtle." The words were spoken with a sort of fond exasperation. The look he gave Tony then was positively wicked, and the human had to bite back a groan. He wondered if the staff would mind too much if he bent Loki over the table and had his way with him.
He cleared his throat and looked at his watch. "I should go," he said. "Business meeting." And if I stare at you any longer, I'll end up doing something that'll get us both arrested.
Something – disappointment? fear? – flashed through Loki's eyes and was gone. "Fair enough," he said. "Do give Thor my best."
Tony paused at that, unsure if Loki was being sarcastic or not. "Uh... sure."
Across the room, Brianna snapped a picture of the two of them on her phone.
"This is so going on facebook!"