TITLE: a study in idiot {act x;you're the master of great ideas, idiot}
AUTHOR: Pepperrrr
RATING: PG
PAIRING: Tony Stark & Loki Laufeyson
WARNINGS: moar tsundere!loki, momma of the team!steve, thor is more schmoopy than tony, omg i don't know how to write the other avengers oh god halp i'm sorry, brotherly begging by thor, loki won't have none of his shit, uncomfortableness, idek, there's some foreign shit in here that you don't need to translate because it's down at the bottom of the chapter.
P.O.V: Third person.
DATE WRITTEN: October 11th 2012 12:08 PM
SUMMARY: "You should talk to Thor." The inventor suggests just above a whisper and Loki, quick as a flash, kicks Tony's calf.
"Shut up idiot." Loki hisses. Tony makes a noise. Thor still stares.
AUTHOR NOTES: This has turned into an actual story, instead of disconnected yet relevant ficlets, it's actually all pick up and left off and all that.
INTRODUCTION: Idiot. The word idiot is used to imply that one is stupid, daft or dumb. Some people use it as a term of endearment. Loki is one of those people. He uses the word idiot as freely as Tony drinks.

This is a collection of times Loki called Tony 'Idiot'.

It's surprisingly peaceful as the team and their number one concern eat Mediterranean cuisine together. Tony sneaks his hand up Loki's thigh mid-feast, and Loki tenses slightly, trying to appear as if nothing was happening. He tries to ignore the constant feel of eyes on him. It's coming most of all from Thor, who hasn't stopped staring at him since Loki and Tony walked out of the bedroom into the Thunderer's line of sight. Everyone has been talking, even Natasha, but none of it is really business, and that surprises Loki, for he thought that Natasha only knew patent leather and the business of gouging mens' eyes out.

Clint swears strangely in his mind whenever he looks over at Loki. Bruce has this funny pinched look on his face at times, and Steve, who sits on the side of Loki that isn't occupied by Tony, is the most polite one out of the bunch. He's a good man, Loki had gathered even before this. Steve nudges him slightly in the side and the god silently applauds his effort.
"So how do you like it?"

He asks him, and Loki is lost for a moment before realizing what he's talking about.
"Oh it's rather good. Just a little too warm for my tastes." The trickster smiles and pushes the plate away from him a little. Tony leans into him now.
"You should talk to Thor."

The inventor suggests just above a whisper and Loki, quick as a flash, kicks Tony's calf.
"Shut up idiot." Loki hisses. Tony makes a noise. Thor still stares.

"Thor, stop staring at your brother and eat your food." Natasha says flatly, not looking up from what Loki thought was her food, but there's a faint buzz and she's actually looking down at her lap. Her hands go missing for a moment underneath the table. Tony shifts and puts something in his pocket. Natasha presents something to Thor- Oh wait that's a phone- and the Thunderer reads what is on the screen.

He looks only barely troubled, but mostly his mood picks up. His eyes shift from the screen to Loki's face, and he smiles and the trickster's eyes get wide and he blinks. He wants to know what Thor read.
"Brother!" Thor booms and Loki shrinks down just a little.

"How do you fare?" No. There is a long pause and Thor tries again, still a ray of thundery sunshine. "Loki, you can't stay silen-"
"Jeg har ingenting du vil høre at jeg kunne si til deg akkurat nå, Thor.."

Loki surprises everyone when he speaks, and it's not because they
(excluding thor)
don't understand a fucking word he just said. Even Natasha, queen of the languages, blinks and looks terribly confused. Thor's face saddens just a little.

"Hvorfor kaster du bære en slik kulde mot meg, bror?" He asks, voice kind. Loki bristles visibly and he grins, all teeth and darkened eyes.
"Fordi jeg ville vite mye om kulde, ville ikke jeg?" The trickster-god spits through his savagely grinning mouth and everyone at the table shifts uncomfortably at the tone of his voice and the way Thor sits up a little.

They half-expect the Shawarma joint to go down in flames by the time their exchange is over.
"Det er ikke det jeg mente, og du vet det, Loke.." Thor sighs, and Loki barks out a laugh. It's incredibly creepy.
"Jeg vet at det er det du vet. Du vet at jeg ikke er Aesir, men en Jotun. Et monster uten blodsbånd til deg, eller din fordømte far."

Loki growls, rising from his chair and Tony immediately grabs Loki's upper arm, trying to tug him back down into his chair. Thor seems beaten, yet unfazed.
"Jeg ønsker bare å snakke med deg som din bror igjen."
"Jeg er ikke din bror!" Loki snaps, and the air actually tastesuncomfortable and everyone shifts again.

Tony's hand is still around Loki's upper arm, and he can feel the god shaking. The trickster calms a little and sits back down, but Tony doesn't release his grip. Loki's voice is quieter when he speaks again. "Jeg er ikke din bror, og jeg vil aldri bli." He says, and Thor relaxes against his chair again, eyes wounded yet understanding.
"Jeg er veldig lei for å høre at, Loke."

Now it's Loki who is staring, and Thor stares back. Everyone finishes their food and they get out of the place, hoping the open night-time air will relieve a bit of the tension. Tony still won't let go of Loki and at times he absent-mindedly pets the shirt Loki is wearing. It's soft. Purr.

Everyone is talking quietly to each other and the brothers have stopped staring, though Loki still gave withering venomous glances at Thor. Tony squeezed his arm each time and Loki's eyes would flick away. Natasha's eyes won't flick away from Loki though, and Tony likes to think that she's mesmerized by him and trying to figure him out. Good luck toots, it took me six months. Loki snorts slightly.

Steve sidles up to Tony, and the inventor expects a speech of some sort. Fraternizing with the enemy as he is, he should be getting a speech from the soldier. But he doesn't. Instead he gets:
"That actually went better than I expected. If you're part of the reason Loki didn't try to kill everyone and start a fight with Thor, good job."

Tony likes to think that he did help. He feels something in then out of his pocket and he looks over at Loki, who has his phone in his hands, looking through his sentbox. He finds the message Tony sent to Natasha.
natasha, show this to point break: he actually doesn't hate you at all. he's like this with most people he likes and I doubt he was like this when you knew him in asgard. don't be upset. you should say something instead of staring though. it's freaking loki out
Loki blushes a bit and smacks the back of Tony's head.

What a fantastic suggestion that was, idiot.

that was intense if you speak german
what
i meant norwegian
shit
the brothers are speaking norwegian because i wanted to okay but here's their conversation. it's pretty sucky but yeah
"I have nothing you want to hear that I could say to you right now, Thor.."
"Why do you still carry such coldness towards me, brother?"
"Because I would know much about cold, wouldn't I?"
"That is not what I meant and you know that, Loki."
"I know that it's what you know. You know that I am not Aesir, but a Jotun. A monster with no blood ties to you, or your damned father."
"I only wish to speak with you as your brother again."
"I am not your brother!" "I am not your brother, and I will never be."
"I'm very sorry to hear that, Loki."

But yes there's that and here's this: Thanks to all the reviewers and all the positivity and encouragement. It makes me very very glad to hear such praise, and to see my view-number go up so dramatically! What a rush! Thank you all and stay tuned!