Work Text:
Natasha took a deep breath, allowing herself to savour the feeling of a job well done as she pinned Bucky down, knife to his throat. ‘Yield.’
Bucky groaned. ‘Cyka. Fine, I yield. But you better teach me that kick so I can beat your ass next time, and believe me, I will.’
Natasha just laughed, swinging herself off and holding out a hand to haul Bucky up. ‘Sure, old man. You keep telling yourself that.’
Bucky rolled his eyes and swung his arm around Nat, swigging from a bottle as he did. ‘Come on, let’s go see if my boyfriend’s finished getting his ass whooped by Thor.’
Natasha smiled, but the sight that greeted them as they headed into the adjoining training room, expecting to be greeted by either Thor and Steve training or Loki and Stephen practicing their spells against one another, but the sight was much different.
They were met with a veritable wall of Avengers slumped across training mats on one side of the room, staring at the two in the centre of the room.
Peter quickly beckoned them over, and was that a bucket of popcorn in his hand?
As they got closer, he gestured to them to sit down and whispered, ‘You haven’t missed much, Loki said his usual, that he had no worthy opponent, Tony said he’d beat Loki’s “tight ass” any day, and we ended up here, but Tony can’t use his suit and Loki can’t use magic.’
Natasha nodded and grinned, taking a handful of popcorn from Peter’s bucket and noting the notebook full of bets he had on his lap. '20 bucks on Loki.’
Peter sighed. ‘That’s what everyone says. I’m going to back Tony though, I think he could do it!’
Natasha smiled and ruffled the kid’s hair. He might be 21 now but he was still too cute for his own good. Turning her attention to the two in the centre, she inwardly rolled her eyes at the posturing going on.
‘Oh, please Stark, like you have any hope of getting me on the floor.’
Tony smiled lasciviously. ‘Oh baby, if I wanted you on the floor I’m sure I could make that happen any time I wanted. As it happens though, I don’t want you on the floor, I am going to use you to wipe it though.’
Loki smirked. ‘I’d like to see you try Stark. But this has been amusing so now,’ he adopted a stance, like a panther ready to strike, ‘Are you ready to yield?’
Tony just grinned, one fist clenched as he beckoned with the other. ‘Alright then, put me on my back, Loki.’
What happened next was a mixture of dancing and brutal wrestling. Tony lunged first which Loki easily dodged, using the direction to pull Tony back and wrap a hand round his torso. Tony used his momentum against him, keeping him whirling in a circle as he pushed Loki to the ground, however he was quickly brought down as Loki stuck a leg out and brought him to the floor, a tangle of limbs and breath.
They rolled on the ground, first one gaining the upper hand and then the other, rolling around, landing punches, and using all the dirty tactics in the book, pinching, kicking, kneeing, even biting if Tony’s hiss was anything to go by.
Finally, though, after pushing each other around, Loki finally gained the permanent upper hand, pinning Tony to the ground, one hand on his chest and the other pinning his hands above his head, legs bracketing legs as they lay there, almost in a kiss.
Loki whispered almost reverently, the movement of his lips just above Tony’s bringing them even closer. ‘Yield?’
Tony grinned wickedly, leaning up, barely noticeable to the untrained eye, but Natasha was brought up to read too much into things. ‘Best of three?’
The next duel started in almost the same poses, but Loki hummed thoughtfully and flicked a wrist, and suddenly a dagger appeared in each of their hands. Tony didn’t react other than to grin and say, ‘Bring it on, Princess.’
And then, Loki was everywhere, whirling around Tony, who managed to get a few strikes in, but was nothing compared to a God trained by princes and elves when it came to sword-work. So why would he agree to such a biased challenge? Natasha thought it over in her head, clinically cataloguing the way Loki bit his lip so hard he drew blood and wiped it with his hand, Tony’s eyes never leaving the movement.
Loki’s practiced strokes sending Tony stumbling backwards until his back was against the wall, head tipped back with a rivulet of blood running down his cheek, Loki towering above him with his sword resting on Tony’s chin, forcing it up as one hand bracketed them both.
The voices were imperceptible, but Natasha’s training wasn’t for nothing, and to be fair half of the team had enhanced hearing.
‘Yield.’
‘Make me.’
Loki tilted Tony’s chin higher. ‘Yield.’
Tony smiled, his eyes darkening. ‘Only for you, Princess.’
They stood in that tableau for a few more seconds before Thor with his booming voice and impeccable timing called out jovially. ‘A fine win, brother!’
At that, the spell was broken, and Tony slung a friendly arm around Loki. ‘I’ll get you next time Rudolph, I just need to sharpen up my skills. Get it? Sharpen? Because the knife?’
Loki rolled his eyes. ‘Yes thank you Stark, I understood entirely. Now I am going to go watch television in my room, I think I have spent enough time with you imbecilic mortals for today.’
Tony laughed. ‘Aw, love you too Rock of Ages.’ As Loki left, he turned to the others. ‘God, he’s such a diva when he fights, it’s hilarious. I think I’m going to hit the showers, that’s my work out for the day.’
As the two headed in opposite directions with nary a glance back at each other, Natasha turned to Bucky who stared back at her.
‘That was – ‘
‘Yep.’
Bucky hummed. ‘They really have no idea?’
Natasha shrugged. ‘Seems not. They’re both idiots who think they’re unlovable, honestly I’d put good money on having them pine away with unresolved sexual tension.’
Bucky laughed. ‘Well, they better resolve it soon or I’m going to call them out on it.’
‘No!’
Natasha and Bucky turned to Peter beside them, who blushed to the roots of his hair. ‘Look, they’ve been like this for a while but only in private, Loki’s only just coming out of his shell now around the rest of you. We need to let this develop naturally!’
Natasha hummed speculatively. ‘It seems we have a little matchmaker in our midst. You set this up, didn’t you?’ Peter spluttered but Natasha held out a hand, laughing. ‘Relax, I’m impressed. This has really been going on for that long?’
Peter just grinned. ‘Trust me. Something’s going to happen sooner or later, and I’m sure there’ll be fireworks.’
--- time skip ---
Clint rolled his eyes as the Tower’s resident diva stormed downstairs, evidently in some strop or another. Probably had a hair out of place, Clint thought, snorting to himself. But evidently, the problem was a little bigger than one of Loki’s precious curls coming out of place as instead of teleporting down as was his wont, he was stomping downstairs.
Covered in white goo.
‘Stark! Stark!!! I’m going to fucking kill you when I find you, you villainous cur!’
Clint smiled happily and surreptitiously turned down the volume of the TV as Tony came in, whistling jauntily, acting exaggeratedly shocked as he caught sight of Loki.
‘Lokes! Oh no, what a terrible crime! You must be so messy you poor thing, here, let me help.’
Loki stalked towards him, pinning him to the wall with both hands braced above his head.
‘I could kill you with one hand, you puny mortal.’
Tony, who Clint assumes has a death wish, smiles cheekily up at him. ‘Oh please, I’d like to see you try, Princess.’
Loki, who somehow retains his graceful bearing despite looking like absolute shit, towered over him. ‘You wouldn’t live if you saw me try.’
Tony just crossed his arms and whistled. ‘Oh, please. You’re all talk, with your “puny mortal” chat, but we both know that’s absolute bullshit, you wouldn’t hurt a fly.
Loki seemed to grow even more, rising above Tony. ‘Is that so? You don’t think I could easily pound you into the ground, if you stoked my rage enough.’
Tony laughed delightedly, having been given the perfect opening. ‘Oh, I’d love you to pound me into the ground, big guy, after all, you’re already covered in my white goo.’
Loki seemed to inch closer to him, closing the already miniscule gap between them. ‘Anthony.’
‘Loki.’
Loki grinned predatorially. ‘You just admitted it was you.’
He stalked away, leaving Tony spluttering in shock as Clint snorted watching the two of them. Tony registered his audience and gestured up to Loki, rolling his eyes and laughing. ‘This guy, am I right? What a little shit.’
Clint hummed, trying not to draw attention to the fact that he could see Loki leaning over the balcony, a wicked glint in his eyes.
Tony continued his little rant when suddenly, just as he began another point, he was suddenly covered in a mountain of pink glitter, coughing, and spluttering and choking.
‘That little – ‘
Loki leaned over the balcony and called out ‘Happy Valentine’s Day, Stark!’
Tony shrieked back up at him, all pretence of manliness gone from his demeanour. ‘You bastardly little coward! Can’t even do it to my face!’
Loki yelled down, smile evident in his face. ‘I’ll do it to your face any time you wish, Stark. Just think about your actions before crossing a God!’
Tony scoffed, spluttering on glitter as he did so. ‘God, my ass! Your cute ass is barely thought of as a God these days! You’re irrelevant!’
Loki just smirked. ‘You do seem to have an unusual fixation on that particular part of my anatomy Stark. Perhaps you would like to examine it up close, ensure it is godly enough for your tastes?’
Tony gave a veritable snarl and stormed up the stairs. ‘You are an ungodly, fucking terror, I’m going to -!’
Clint never does hear what Tony’s going to do, as he pushed Loki into the nearest room, both of them screaming at each other all the while. Natasha came and plopped down on the sofa beside him, swinging her legs into his lap so he can massage them, which he does almost on instinct now.
‘What was all that about?’
He shrugged, attention already drifting from it. ‘The neighbours are fucking weird, man.’
--- time skip ---
Peter looked between the two of them, unsure how to proceed or whether he should intervene. They’d just gotten back from a mission, which could have gone better, but they still did what they needed to do!
That was not how Tony and Loki were seeing it.
Loki growled, walking away from Tony. ‘You are the most arrogant, selfish, reckless idiotic – ‘
‘Talking about yourself there, Lokes?’ Tony interjected. ‘See, I think that someone felt that you needed taking down a peg after the “weak mortal” comment – ‘
‘You imbecile! You could have been killed, Stark! You are – ‘
‘Weak? What, you think I can’t protect myself – ‘
‘Do not presume to put words in my mouth, Stark! You know very well that I think very highly of your skills in battle, but that does not make you immortal -!’
‘What, like you? No, because no-one will ever be good enough for you, will they Loki?’
Loki seemed ready to continue his tirade but paused at that statement. ‘That’s what this is about, isn’t it? St – Anthony, I – ‘
Tony brushed past him, his words harsh as he hid his face from both of them. ‘Save it, Loki. I bloody well know where I stand.’
Loki stalked over to him, pulling him towards him both roughly and tenderly at the same time. ‘You listen well, Anthony Stark. You are one of the brightest, most courageous beings I know. That includes every bloody pompous, self-righteous, stupid immortal I have interacted with over centuries, you outshine them all. I don’t give a shit that you’re mortal, I just worry about those I care about, and you will have to accept that.’
Tony smiled softly up at him. ‘Aw, getting soft on me, Lokes?’
Loki humphs and crossed his arms. ‘Don’t get used to it, Stark.’
‘Hey,’ Tony said, putting a hand on his elbow. ‘I do appreciate that. I’m used to being overlooked on a team of literal gods and super-soldiers, sometimes I don’t think.’
Loki sighs softly. ‘Yes, I rather gathered that. But rest assured, you will not die on my watch so easily, Stark.’
With that, he disappeared, and Peter was left staring at Tony who was smiling like an absolute fool. When Peter nudged him hard, he broke out of his reverie and gave a jovial grin. ‘Takes a bit of time to get him out of his shell, but he’s a good friend, isn’t he?’
As he walked away, whistling a jaunty tune, Peter spluttered. How were they still so oblivious to each other?!
--- time skip ---
Loki might be reformed, and act as a ‘consultant’ for the Avengers, but when the streets of New York were quiet, Loki took it on himself to cause some harmless fun, just to keep them on their toes.
This was one of those times.
While normally his ‘fun’ was reserved for one place, usually Central Park, this time, he seemed to have gone down a different route. Every single restaurant, diner or café in New York had a large variety of beverages, yet in any of these fine establishments, the moment you ordered a hot drink, it turned to coffee.
It seemed to affect households too, noted Bruce, who spluttered as his usual soothing herbal tea was replaced by the bitter taste of caffeine.
Tony grinned delightedly and swooped down, plucking the mug from his hands. ‘This is fucking great! Much better than his usual brand of shitting with us. I could get used to this!’
Bruce just looked at him thoughtfully as he guzzled down his coffee, evidently it had even been made in that specific way Tony liked it. Hmm.
--- time skip ---
Steve groaned as for the second time that day, his beer was transformed into something else as it ran down his throat. It was no longer the bitter taste of caffeine though, it was…fizzy cranberry juice? Why on earth would it be –
Her train of thought was interrupted by Tony, staring into what had previously been a couple fingers of his favourite scotch, but was now the vivid blood-red that was in his own bottle.
He knew he had been struggling to cut back on his alcohol lately, the nightmares playing up again, and it seemed that Loki’s prank had solved the problem for him in one fell swoop. Now Steve might not have been the brightest button, but he did notice the raw, unguarded emotion that flew across Tony’s face as he stared at it, before downing it in one go, smiling softly into his glass as he went up for a refill. Hmm.
--- time skip ---
Thor laughed to himself as the call to assemble came in, not for a nefarious purpose but due to Loki’s latest joke. It was rather bothersome at times, but it put him in fine spirits that his wayward brother was regaining the humour of their youth.
He had decided to decorate the entire Park of the Centre like some popular franchise on Midgard, and while it was indeed proving to be most amusing to the people of the Newer York, it had been decreed that it had to be taken down, so they had been tasked with bringing that news to Loki.
As he landed in the green, he was truly stunned by the decorations that surrounded him. Apparently they were in the theme of “Lord of the Rings”. They were most beautiful, for Loki was indeed a fine craftsman in their youth!
The other Avengers seemed to agree with him, staring in awe at the mystical decorations that encircled them. It reminded Thor of his first trip to Alfheim, the awe he had felt at the beauty which was so different from Asgard.
However, none seemed to be in such awe as the Man of Iron, who had stepped out of his suit entirely and was as if in a trance. His hand reverently went out to brush the foliage surrounding him, his mouth open in awe as he realised it was all real.
Thor smiled as Loki appeared behind Stark, and went to yell out a greeting to him, but was grabbed on one side by the Man of Spiders and was pinched hard by the Lady Natasha, both of whom shushed him. He stared curiously at where his brother was tapping Stark’s shoulder.
‘You remembered.’
Loki shrugged, looking sheepish. ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m a menace, ask anybody. Turning drinks, infiltrating the heart of your city.’
Stark just looked up at him, eyes shining brightly. ‘You asshole.’
Loki smiled at that. ‘I am that. Absolute bastard, me. Public enemy number 1.’
Stark rolled his eyes and laughed, resting his head on Loki’s shoulder for a second. ‘More like public-sort-of-nuisance-sometimes number 1.’
Looking at each other, they seemed unsure how to proceed. Loki was staring at Stark as if he had a million questions, and Stark gazed at him as if he was the answer.
‘Anthony. Are you sure?’
Stark nodded, biting his lip. ‘I’ll always be sure about you, Princess. You turned Central Park into a freaking Lord of the Rings arena because in an offhand comment, I mentioned I always wanted a Lord of the Rings birthday party. You turned drinks to coffee to make me smile, and alcohol to juice in the evenings when I mentioned I was struggling with sleeping. I have never been surer about anything.’
Loki didn’t need any more encouragement, and swooped down, hands tangled in Stark’s hair as he verily consumed him, and oh Thor was torn between joy for his brother and disgust at seeing his baby brother devour Stark. He would have to have a talk with his brother-in-law-to-be later.
Away from the eavesdroppers, Loki broke the kiss. ‘Anthony, we cannot go back on this. Are you sure you want your shield-brothers to know that you have lain with a criminal, a monster, I – ‘
Anthony put a finger to his lips. ‘You’re not a monster. You’re my partner, and I want the whole damn world to know that. I don’t need to keep pretending we’re just friends, I care about you too much to do that, and more than anything I trust you Loki.’
Loki broke at that, surging down and claiming Anthony with his kiss, unknowing how he ended up with the most wonderful man in all the Nine Realms. The moment could have lasted for a second, or for eternity, Loki couldn’t tell you. However, what he could tell you was that it was ended by young Parker, who looked uncharacteristically furious.
Of all the team members whom Loki thought might disapprove, Peter was not one of them. ‘Peter – ‘
‘No! I stood by for months, watching your incessant flirting and teasing, and tried to push you together and now I find out that this has been happening all this time?! How could you?!’
Loki giggled, ruffling the young ones hair. ‘Well, if it helps, the first time I truly considered he may see me the way I saw him was after you goaded us into that ridiculous spar in the gym last month.’
Peter seemed to soften, smiling delightedly. ‘Aha! I am a triumphant matchmaker! Fear me!’ he shouted, running back to the other Avengers as Anthony laughed into Loki’s shoulder.
‘The kid is never going to let us live that down,’ Anthony said, laughing fondly.
Loki grinned. ‘No, I suppose not. But loathe as I am to admit it, I will give him that liberty, as I appreciate the push he gave us.’
Anthony chuckled. ‘Wow, getting sentimental, are we?’
Loki grinned, and veritably purred as he put two fingers under Anthony’s chin. ‘Oh, don’t worry darling. I’m sure you were gearing up for a fight, so why don’t we go let off some steam, and then you can see how thoroughly unsentimental I can be after pinning you down in a duel and then pinning you again?’
‘Fuck yes.’