Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The Tower, 7:38am

Tony raised a hand to knock on Loki's door, hoping to surprise his resident trickster. Usually, Loki was barely awake at this time of day – as in, he was out of bed and dressed, but rarely more than that – which made this the perfect moment to catch him off guard without actually waking a sleeping beast while still being somewhat civil about it. Who knew, Tony might even gain a hint or two about today's plans from a sleepy-headed, less alert Loki – and maybe, just maybe, manage to plant one of his own prank devices out of sight while his friend wasn’t looking.

...alright, who was he kidding. There was near zero chance he'd be able to easily get one by Loki – not today. Not on the day – the day of pranks and tricks, of funny gadgets and old hats and near obligatory shenanigans: April Fools’.

Yeah, there was no chance. Just, none. (Though that wouldn't stop him from trying.)

Really, thinking about it, he’d be lucky if he wasn’t walking into a prank right now. ...not that he minded, exactly.

A grin stole onto his face. He was actually really looking forward to discovering what Loki had cooked up this time. It had already been heaps of fun last year, and that was when Loki had still been somewhat careful around his fellow Avengers. And now... well. Now, all bets were off, and there was no telling what Loki had up his magically augmented sleeve.

...really, thinking about it some more, Tony was probably two steps away from an unpleasant meeting with a metaphorical (or not; you never did know) water bucket.

He'd take the chance, though. (And the water-or-something, if it came to that.)

Bracing himself for whatever might happen next, he knocked out a fun little rhythm on the door. His callsign, so to say – Loki didn't need it (magic surveillance had to be so convenient), but Tony had developed the habit and wasn’t about to stop now. Much like the other thing he had developed regarding his friend, which didn’t seem to be going anywhere either... but this was no time for that. He’d have all the sleeplessly pining hours in the world to think about it – him – later, when they weren't just about to come face to face.

Pushing that train of thought away with practiced ease, Tony managed to regain his grin by the time the door swung open. It was just as he had guessed-worried-anticipated: Loki seemed more than awake; bright-eyed and bushy-tailed in fact as he gave Tony a wide grin. It was almost manic in its level of impish energy, and Loki couldn't have looked more like the god of mischief had he tried.

But more than that, he looked... happy. If Tony wasn’t grinning already, this would have done it. Loki's all too obvious joy and gleeful anticipation were infectious, making Tony beam back at him. It felt like all of his systems were coming online, excitement and mirroring glee sharpening his focus. He knew; he just knew that one of his pranks would be it – the one to surprise Loki, to catch him off guard; to make him drop his jaw and sneer and laugh. Oh, I’m going to get you so good.

“Hey,” Tony said.

Except he didn’t. What actually came out was: “Socks.”

Loki blinked at him. Tony blinked back.

The fuck?

If he hadn’t had a minor hallucination just now, that could only mean one thing: hello, water.

“Starting on the pranks already?” he wanted to ask. What actually emerged was: “This the way to the station?”

...

Alright, he could see how this kind of spell might, possibly, be a little funny.

Loki certainly seemed to think so, eyebrows raised as he studied Tony. Though, unexpectedly, he looked surprised as well – but why would Loki be surprised? He was the magic prankster of them both.

Some other mage, then? Shame. It might be fun involuntarily talking shit, but only if it was Loki making him.

Loki stepped back and gestured for Tony to come in, saying, “Good aim.”

What.

Freezing mid motion, Loki stared at him in shock. (Another mage, then. Awh.) For a split second, he looked deeply suspicious, eyes narrowed and piercing as if Tony had anything to do with this. But then, just as quickly, he settled some, the suspicion on his face making way for a blank kind of shock. He continued staring at Tony, looking at him like he was seeing him for the first time. Gone was the joy, the anticipation. Now, Loki appeared very much off his game – confused, surprised and altogether just… stumped.

And also like he wanted to close the door in Tony’s face.

Tony quickly stepped in, sidling past Loki’s still unmoving form. Pleased that he encountered no resistance (which in Loki’s case might have been a straight up wall), he went through to the living room, where he settled down on one end of the couch.

And waited.

...

What was Loki doing?

Tony’s sense of time might not be the best but it must’ve been a good minute when he finally heard the click of the door closing. And then, after another half minute, steady footfalls as Loki followed him inside, visibly calmed – no, 'wooden' was much more accurate. He looked as if he had put his ‘Nothing going on here, I’m totally fine’ mask on.

Taking in his friend's straight face, Tony kind of regretted that he hadn’t waited at the door with him. But then, he might have been pushed out by an obviously unsettled Loki, so perhaps it was for the best.

It was weird, though. Would Loki really react like that to another mage getting the better of him? He certainly hadn’t the few times that had happened before. ...not that those had been major incidents. More like inconveniences Loki hadn’t seen coming, then dealt with as if he actually had.

But that aside, he also didn’t seem angry. Which Tony was sure he would be (at least a little), if this was caused by someone else. So...

...it was his own spell?

Loki’s own spell – malfunctioning, and hitting Loki himself?

...

Dear god, that was hilarious.

Biting down on a grin, Tony watched Loki stride over. He settled in the plush chair closest to Tony, his movements all too controlled as he crossed his legs, leaned on the armrest a bit, then crossed his fingers as well. Again, he stared at Tony.

And got a questioning look in return. ‘What?’

Loki’s fingers twitched, and suddenly it was like he was looking through him. Magic scanning.

After a few moments, Loki averted his gaze, showing no reaction to whatever info he had just gotten. Eyes lowered and staring into nothing, he remained just as silently focused – probably scanning himself, then.

Tony waited patiently the few breaths it took Loki to sort his data out. He would’ve happily continued for longer than that, too. After all, it wasn’t everyday that Loki tripped up like this. And Tony planned on savouring it, and after today, rubbing it in his face. A lot.

Apparently finished with his examination, Loki opened his mouth– “Roasted belt buckles–” and promptly closed it again. His hand twitched as if wanting to cover his thinning lips, and he continued staring at the floor in now awkward silence. He looked... embarrassed. Dumbfounded, awkward and embarrassed.

A laugh burst out of Tony. He had never seen Loki like this: face carefully blank yet virtually screaming ‘What the actual fuck’, joined by a good dose of ‘What do I do?’

Loki’s gaze darted over at the sound, a spark of anger apparent in the look he gave him. Tony only grinned back. He hadn’t been this entertained in weeks. Loki out of his depth was one thing, and rare enough to come across, but this? This was another thing entirely.

And it was glorious.

“Yesterday, my pet melon–” right. The spell. Tony closed his mouth, considering how to communicate his off the charts amusement at the situation.

(This was probably the reason Loki hadn’t lifted the spell yet: embarrassment, and reluctance to talk about it. Well, tough luck for him. Tony would find a way to rub it in his face, and within seconds at that.)

His phone (in his pocket, but no fun), spelling it with hand signs (too much effort/time), JARVIS–

As if he had read his mind, his trusty AI asked, “May I be of assistance, Sir?”

So JARVIS wasn’t affected then. Good to know.

– then maybe talking to JARVIS wasn’t covered either?

“JARVIS?” Tony tried.

Yess.

Not waiting for his AI to reply, he continued with a grin: “Tell Loki how funny it is that the fastest pink elephants–” whoops. He must’ve subconsciously shifted focus to Loki halfway through.

Resolutely looking at one of the cameras in the room, he repeated, “JARVIS, tell Loki how funny it is that he got hit by his own spell.”

And rather than simply relay the message, JARVIS agreed: “It is rather amusing, Mr. Odinson.”

Tony burst into laughter. He couldn’t have been prouder of his magnificent brain child.

Visibly not irked anymore (sometimes it was straight up unfair how much Loki liked JARVIS), Loki eyed him with reluctant amusement. Though his expression hadn’t lost its question mark-ness, it was more thoughtful now; considering almost.

Tony returned his friend's gaze, clueless how to interpret those near-audibly turning gears.

(Was this really just Loki's reaction to a spell going sideways?)

A breath or two later, Loki looked away to focus on the same camera Tony had just talked at. “Indeed, JARVIS. I do have to admit that this is a bit...” Eyes drifting down, he stared at the wall. “...humorous,” he finished with a small, unreadable smile on his face.

Chapter Text

Before Tony could figure out what the odd look on Loki's face meant, there was a pounding on the door.

“Loki!” came an angry bellow from outside – from none other than Thor, of course. (Noone else had his enthusiasm when it came to knocking – knocking on doors, knocking them in; there was a fitting knock for every situation. Time and again, Tony was grateful for the sturdy job the contractors had done on the doors in the tower.) After another three heavy thumps, Thor continued, “Stop it this instant! I won’t have you ruining my talks with Ja–” Jane?

With the sound abruptly cut off, Tony refocused on Loki, surprised at what he saw. This wasn’t the first time Loki had magically tuned out his brother, and neither was it the first time he had done it after playing a prank on him. So it should be business as usual. But if anything, Loki looked somewhat on edge – and like he was trying to hide it from Tony.

Something was going on here. Tony didn’t know what it was about the failed spell that had Loki this bent out of shape in the first place, but if there was a clue to be found with Thor, then he sure as hell wasn’t going to miss it.

After a questioning look to Loki, which was returned as helpfully informative as a blank piece of paper, Tony stood and went to get the door. As he pulled it open, his mouth started to automatically form a greeting, even with his brain fully aware that something entirely different would come out instead.

He was surprised, then, when he actually heard what he had meant to say: “What's up, Goldilocks?”

Huh. When had Loki stopped the spell – just now?

Wait.

Loki's spellcasting always had some physical component to it (even if only a twitch of fingers, wrist or head), yet Tony had seen nothing of the sort in the few seconds between Loki obviously making an effort to direct his speech at JARVIS, not him (ergo, the spell had still been active) and them hearing Thor’s very not scrambled shout – Thor, who had to have been under the spell as well, going by his ‘ruined talks’ (likely with Jane). So how was it that Thor could speak to/yell at them just fine? Was it the level of volume, more physical distance – no, Jane was in New Mexico – possibly sound passing through matter other than air?

Tony’s brain continued spinning theories as he stood there and lobbed another question at Thor's surprised face: “So you were hit with the spell, too?”

“You were as well, friend Tony?” Thor responded, all curious and amiable. It was actually a bit funny. Sure, the target of his anger wasn’t right here, but damn had he forgotten about it quickly.

“Yup. And get this,” Tony said, grinning. “Loki hit himself with it, too.”

Come on, he thought. Give me some info I can work with.

Thor’s eyebrows shot up. “He spoke nonsense... to you?” Likely reading the answer on Tony's face, he went on, “And you... to him?”

“Yeah,” Tony responded easily. Wasn’t that how communication worked? At least if you had a shit talking spell on you. The way Thor had asked that was off though, and it threw the majority of his tentative theories right out the window. What didn't help either was the thunder god’s stunned look, which quickly transformed into a wide, happily surprised smile.

Something was definitely going on here.

“What do you know that I don’t?” Tony asked, and whoops. Might have said that one a bit better.

Thor didn’t seem to mind, though. “Oh,” he answered slowly, drawing the sound out. His gaze drifted to somewhere behind Tony, and fixed on something that made him grin from ear to ear. “Enough,” he said, amused and laden with meaning. His eyes danced with humor when they found Tony's again, and although Tony didn’t appreciate getting the short end of the knowledge stick, he had to commend the attitude.

“Sassy, Pointbreak. I like it.”

“Do you now,” Thor answered – in a tone that was flirty enough to be right out of Tony's own repertoire. It made him consider for half a second that this might be part of a prank – Loki's probably, making him hallucinate an increasingly weird Thor. Maybe he'd break out into song and strip rip off his pants next.

But then, Loki’s voice sounded from just behind him, and he realized what that shit-eating grin of Thor's actually meant: He was trying to rile up Loki.

Why choose this method for it, though, Tony wondered, only half listening as Loki said, “I have lifted the spell. Now – goodbye, Thor.” With that, he stepped forward and carefully pushed Tony back inside. At the same time, he closed the door so quickly it resembled a slamming, but not before Thor had gotten another word in: “Have fun, you two!”

And the way he’d said it...

Tony had never been locked into a closet with his crush, but he imagined it would feel something like this.

Never mind that Loki had been the one to shut the door.

(The things he’d give to have Loki lock them in a closet...)

Mentally giving himself a shake, he watched as Loki took a deep breath, his hand remaining on the door as if he wanted to physically assure himself that Thor stayed on the other side of it. The lines of his back were tense, only relaxing some when it became clear that his brother had left. It was weird – and more than uncharacteristic, for Loki to just go ‘Oh my bad, I’ll stop the prank right now’ and simply send Thor on his way without even a joke or snarky line. And for it to happen today ...yeah. Something was so off here, Tony thought as Loki exhaled and turned around to face him, and he was more than ready to find out what that something was.

Might as well get straight to the point. “What is it you’re not telling me?” he demanded, arms crossed. He wasn’t really blocking Loki’s way, but it was a near thing.

“You didn’t tell me either,” Loki shot back, gaze challenging as he straightened and looked down at Tony.

“Huh?” His brain immediately pushed forward one thing – the one thing he hadn’t told Loki that might be of actual importance to him. Shit. Nono no. How would it have even come up in this context? It couldn’t be that. “What the fuck are you talking about?” he asked, pretending calm.

Loki pinched the bridge of his nose. He breathed a subdued sigh, then lowered his arm – and looked at Tony like he didn’t know what to do with him.

(Tony knew so many things Loki could do with hi– fuck, not the time.)

Tony stood there frozen, thankful when JARVIS spoke into the silence: “If I may, Mr. Odinson. Ms. Romanov and Mr. Barton asked me to convey their appreciation of the entertainment provided. However, they would like it to be known that it would in no way lessen their retaliation.”

“Thank you, JARVIS,” Loki replied – polite as ever when it came to said AI. His eyes remained on Tony, though, and he looked like he was only waiting for him to figure it out.

And with that final clue, Tony did:

Selective spell – JARVIS unaffected; Thor speaking to them unaffected.

It had affected: him and Loki. Thor and Jane. Nat and Clint.

‘You didn’t tell me either.’

Thor happily surprised. Thor trying to rile up Loki by flirting with him.

‘Either.’

Holy fucking shit.

“It’s a spell that makes people talk shit when speaking to someone they’re–” in love with, Tony just managed to not say. Assuming too much. Loki wasn’t– the evidence was inconclusive. He was, Thor and Jane probably were, but he had no idea what was actually going on between the assassin pair (and he preferred it that way) and also Loki wasn’t– what– “...into,” he finished, glad that the pause hadn’t been too noticeable.

“And you’re...” he added, then trailed off into nothing. Loki was what?

Interested in him, at least. Right?

Right?

...oh god, Loki was interested in him. He could work with that. He could work with that so much.

“It seems that way,” Loki said, still looking like he didn’t know what to do. Which wasn’t very encouraging – after all, interest itself... didn’t mean shit. Not if its owner didn’t want to act on it.

Hold up.

Loki had been surprised – surprised at being affected by his own spell. He had been shocked.

And the way he’d looked at Tony then, as if seeing him in an entirely new light... really, Tony could only think of one reason that fit – one that explained Loki's behavior much better than simply ‘reaction to spell malfunction’:

Loki… Loki hadn’t known.

Oh god, that was... that made this whole situation somehow better, and worse. Tony really hoped the embarrassment had been about the not knowing, rather than Loki being into... him.

That depressing idea aside (– just. No. Absolute garbage thought–) this meant that Loki being unsure about... them might not be as bad for his chances as Tony had thought. His uncertainty, which Tony had assumed to mean ‘probably not’ could actually be a newly minted... ‘maybe’.

Maybe.

Maybe, if Tony just asked…

“Go on a date with me,” he blurted out, unable to stop what he hadn’t seen coming. So much for the asking. “Please,” he added, a touch too quickly.

...smooth, Tony. Real smooth.

He could see in Loki’s face that he had found his bumbling funny, though, so at least there was that. He seemed to be considering it as well, if cautiously – not a ‘yes’, then. But also not a ‘no’.

Tony continued: “After you pranking the shit out of everyone today, and me pranking the absolute everloving fuck out of you–” he grinned in happy relief at the way Loki practically lit up, mischief and challenge written all over him– “we could go for a nice dinner somewhere. Maybe watch a movie after, if you like. It'll be fun.” And it would be. He always had fun with Loki. And he was pretty sure the same went for Loki with him.

Apparently, he wasn't alone in his thinking. Though Loki still looked undecided, now it was the kind where a simple brush could tip the answer to either side of the fence.

So rather than hold his breath, Tony tried to reach. Not to push, but just to... lightly provide his touch, meant to appeal and entice. “And just think of the confusion we’d cause. After all, it is April Fools’.”

Oh, Loki liked that.

Gotcha, Tony thought, giddy and a little high as he watched the answer form in that lovely mischievous mind.

“Alright,” Loki said.

“Yeah?” Tony breathed, heart tripping into a race. Oh god, this was actually happening. Was it? Yes it was.

Oh, dear fucking god.

Loki hummed in reply, eyes fondly amused and fixed on Tony.

And Tony just – he couldn’t wait. There was no way he'd survive until evening; the anticipation would make him actually combust. Once again, his mouth was faster than his brain: “Wanna make that lunch instead?”

Loki tilted his head a bit. After a moment that to Tony felt like a small eternity, he stated, “I’m not going to change my mind.”

Which was not what Tony had been worried about – until Loki had mentioned it, that was. After all, there were at least 10 hours between now and dinner. 10 times 60 minutes, times 60 seconds, and any single one of them could be the point where Loki decided that this wasn’t for him after all; that actually, he wasn’t that into Tony, or that he'd rather keep their friendship as is, or whatever reasonable and awful thing else Tony couldn’t think of right now.

So to hear Loki say it, that he wouldn’t change his mind – it was... good. Very... uhm. Good. “You won’t?” Tony echoed, wincing internally at how small his voice had sounded.

“No,” Loki said. “I won’t.” Slowly, the corners of his mouth drew up to form a smile that was small, but entirely sincere.

And maybe it was too optimistic, bordering on naive, but just then, Tony was sure they'd be alright. Because he had seen that smile before – many times, in fact. And though it might not be entirely the same (incredibly, astonishingly so), it was in all the ways that mattered: Through that wonderful, new spark of something more, a familiar warmth and brightness shone out at him, making his heart flutter and squeeze. (God, how he loved it, loved seeing it. Everytime, it reminded him why he had fallen for Loki, and only pulled him in deeper. That smile...) It was there when they were down in the lab, bouncing ideas off each other, or when Tony had said something unexpected and good. It was the smile Loki gave him when huddling on the couch together after a movie, both of them done in and laughed out after a constant cycle of jabs and comical impressions cracking the other up.

It was the one that sometimes appeared for no reason at all – as if Tony's existence was enough to draw it out.

As if Loki only had to look at him to think, ‘I like you.’

And to see it now, after what had just happened; after their relationship had (likely irrevocably) changed... it gave Tony hope, and calmed him at the same time. Because, more than anything, he... he simply liked Loki. And to know that was returned, even if only to a degree... it was incredible.

That mutual affection, to Tony, seemed plenty to go on – more than, actually. Sure, they might trip up along the way, or butt heads as they squabbled about directions – and hell, there might not even be much of a way at all – ...but that genuine ‘I like you’ on Loki's face made him think that there could be.

That maybe, there was.

Tony returned his friend's smile, an odd feeling of certainty contrasting the nervously excited thrum of his heart. He might not know where they were headed, but he was sure of it: wherever they’d go from here, they’d figure it out – together.

Chapter Text

Tony looked at his friend, wondering what was happening behind that inscrutable, somewhat lost-in-thought facade of an expression.

A beat passed. Two. Finally, Loki's gaze swiveled to him, and though it was vaguely reminiscent of being studied under a magnifying glass, he still seemed a bit out of it. A tad wide-eyed, and... yeah, he wasn’t blinking nearly enough.

God, Loki must've had an awful time learning magic if this was how he reacted to malfunctioning spells. And while Tony could relate to an extent – sometimes the too-many-dozenth revision of something still not working did spike his frustration to stratospheric levels – this definitely seemed a bit much. Surely, Loki had learned to cope with failed attempts over the (many, many) years? There was no way he could have made it this far if every bust pushed his reset button like this.

It was... weird.

And Tony was beginning to feel a bit weird too, with the way Loki was just... staring at him – full on target-aquired, locking-on staring. He suppressed the urge to nervously shift in his seat. Loki looking at him was one thing – great, usually – but this kind of silent observation sounded an alarm in the back of his mind. After all, if Loki kept looking, there was the very real danger of him seeing, too.

And that would – Tony wasn't even going there.

So, time for a distraction. Luckily, Loki had served him one on a silver platter. And if he was refusing to recant it because of a little embarrassment – well, then he might as well listen to Tony ramble on unintelligibly.

(...not that that was entirely new for them. But anyway.)

He went to ask Loki what he was thinking, and listened to himself saying, “I called – no chairs, though?”

Again, it was so far off from what he had meant to say that it was almost funny. And... though he could only go on a precious few lines, it seemed like no single word remained the same? He wondered how it worked exactly – and if there were rules, which.

Excitement sparking at the chance to figure out Loki’s spell, he went on to experiment a bit.

First, to get a general feel and test for repetition, he tried ‘I like pizza’ five times. What came out was:

“Crap weather, right.”

“Dan pets small cats.” (Who was Dan?)

“Quantum string quartet.” (Syllables weren’t set, then.)

“One sunny knob.”

And finally: “Oh, you zebra.”

The ‘zebra’ made a sound suspiciously close to a snort. Tony grinned back. He was glad to see that Loki had recovered a bit, and was now watching him with the air of an entertained spectator. Watching – not observing.

Which meant his plan had been a success, and the distraction had served its purpose. Except, it had become more than that: interesting. And fun – for both of them, from the looks of it.

Tony continued. This time, counting to ten: “Dim, pong, tap, glee, blue, sent, innard, old, tape, frock.”

Well, that was no fun. It seemed he had to actually intend for correlation if he wanted more than random, singular words. So he tried a variety of topics, noting that, still, no single word ever stayed the same – and, interestingly, that no opposites appeared either. Everything was entirely random, but somehow safely removed from the original intent.

When trying to tell the story of the time he got a speeding ticket in Russia: “There once was a gremlin named Mrs. Frumpkins, suspiciously red toed. You really ought to wash those pumperknickles. So I went ahead and said, ‘Fuck me, take them instead,’ and haven’t looked back since. It's a shame ducks don’t come in pairs.”

When trying to ask when Loki had gotten up: “Sand made of which bread?”

When trying to talk about their last movie night: “Fingers are strangely flat, wouldn’t I say? Funny that you’re asking. Let’s think about that for a light year... hah, so that's where the bark went. Noo, I get it. Seems the castle just crumbles once every cock-a-doodle-doo.”

By that one, Loki was full on grinning. He seemed to be genuinely enjoying this – but then, that wasn’t exactly a surprise. Most who had been pranked by him probably didn’t know, how... pure Loki’s love of mischief could be. Of course, sometimes he actually was out to make someone a sputtering wet rat, but other times, he simply did it for the fun – and seemed to delight in it when his target found it funny as well. More than once, Loki had tricked him, and Tony had laughed and rolled with it and Loki had seemed so – happy, so full of joy. And the way he was looking at him now... the warmth in his expression made a gentle heat rise in Tony's chest, and he had to be careful not to let his slowly melting brain drip all over his face.

(Oh god, he was so gone on Loki, it wasn’t even funny.)

Where was I – right. Talking shit.

On he went. When trying to tell Loki about his newest project: “Listen, Saturday night has always been kilt kirmess, and I won’t have you beating a dead horse in front of the kids.” Goddamn, Tony's brain and Loki’s spell were one trip of a combo.

He continued spouting utter nonsense as he went over the concept and design of the newest SI product, grinding to a halt when a sudden flash of an idea pinged at the edge of his mind. Wrinkling his brow, he subconsciously averted his eyes from Loki to better concentrate on it, then mumbled to himself, “No, we did that already, flash of genius my ass...”

–huh?

He blinked at Loki. Had he lifted the spell?

Tony opened his mouth to ask, and out came: “Fudge cake fungus–” eww ugh fuck, no thank you. His lip curled a little in disgust.

Loki smirked at him.

Tony gave him the finger.

Loki laughed, teeth shining and eyes crinkling, and Tony wanted to kiss him so bad.

Nope nope nope.

The spell. Yup. That. Yes, the spell. Better think about that.

So, how was it that Tony could – apparently – talk to himself without getting scrambled? Did it mean JARVIS wasn’t the Special Exception™, but that Loki and him talking to each other were? Just to be sure it hadn’t been a fluke, he closed his eyes and made sure to not focus on anyone as he counted to ten once again.

That worked just fine.

He opened his eyes, tilting his head a bit as he looked at Loki. Maybe JARVIS was the exception after all, and it was generally communication with someone else that was affected? Hmm...

Loki smiled at him. It was affectionate and almost... encouraging.

Tony was pretty sure that he didn’t have enough data to actually figure it out, but regardless – a bit more potty prose wouldn’t hurt. “Last week or so – I tend to forget when I haven’t gotten my back waxed – the Gollygoos had a show in town. Swingers, glowing smoke rings and all that ass. Steve even got his star polished for the occasion. Best six hours of life.”

He stared at Loki, slackjawed. After a charged moment, both of them broke, Tony into peals of laughter and Loki into more quiet chuckling.

Swingers, smoke rings and all that ass.

Steve. Got his star polished.

Best six hours – best six hours of life. Not his life. Of life – like, all of it; the history of life??

Christ on a drumstick, there was no way he had just spouted that magnificent mess of a statement.

(Had he? Maybe he hadn’t. Tony hadn’t gotten his back waxed recently, so who could blame him for forgetting.)

Doubling over in laughter, Tony tried to wrap his mind around the absurdity of what had just come out of his mouth, and just – failed.

What were – god, what were the fucking odds even?

Steve, America’s Ass – all that ass – getting his star rubbed down. (Oh, golly.)

Another heap of laughter fell out of him.

He was tearing up, bent over the arm of the couch and clutching it like he was holding on for dear life. (Best time. Ever. From the first procaryote to the – to the dead last organism to croak out of existence; best six hours of life.)

Really, life had peaked. It was over, now. They could all go home.

Crack went his struggling composure.

Wiping his eyes, Tony tried to get a handle on himself. (How to do that? Dunno. Back isn’t waxed.)

Fucking fuck.

...

It took entirely too long for him to finally calm down (thanks to his brain replaying and remixing and serving it to him again and again), and by the end his laughing did sound more like whining. But he managed it. Blinking the last of the tears from his eyes, he sat up slowly and got his first proper look at Loki since the laugh flash had started.

And, boy. Was it a look.

Loki was watching him with a smile on his face, amused and warm and so... helplessly fond.

Tony swallowed. Something in his chest ached at the sight, at the thought that Loki could look at him like this. And it might not be – that; it might not be what Tony felt for him, but still, it was so much. And it made his own feelings bubble up; made the almost constantly slumbering mass of love inside his chest rear its head and shake and begin its climb to the surface. Tony felt it like little pricks against his insides, felt his throat dry up and heart beat faster as he stared mutely at his friend.

He could say it.

At least, he could pretend (god, did he want to say it; say it just once) – and the spell would cover for him.

A deep breath.

Then: “I’m in love with you.”

Oh, “Fuck.” (Shit shit – what? – shit.)

And then, just to be sure, he blurted out: “Mary had a little lamb.”

Oh, god.

Oh, dear fucking–

Scrambling spell. Gone after a confession.

Of course.

Aiming for dry humor and falling short by miles, Tony said, “So that’s the kind of spell it is, huh.” One that let him talk to himself and others (aka JARVIS) just fine, but messed up his speech towards his love interest – until he confessed. Classic, really. How had he not thought of– wait a second.

Why had Loki been affected, then?

As his brain tangled itself into knots (had Loki known, was he actually into– he had seemed surprised at Tony being affected, why had the spell been up in the first place, was this a prank – no, it couldn’t be), he silently stared at Loki, watching his expression go from happy surprise to – he couldn't say. Definitely still happy, plus something more indefinable.

This wasn’t anxiety inducing at all.

“Loki, what–” he croaked out. Torn between challenge and pleading (I dare you, I fucking dare you to have this be a prank – please, god, please just tell me this is real, that it’s–), he willed Loki to open his mouth and give him some much needed clarity.

Smiling in a way that somehow softened his entire being, Loki looked at him – again, with that helpless fondness in his eyes. Voice brimming with it as he said: “I adore you.”

...

Uh.

Entirely busy with blinking and breathing, Tony watched dumbly as Loki averted his gaze and breathed out a sigh. A moment later, he passed a hand over his face, a smidgen of frustration appearing in his brow. “It has always been a favorite of mine; entertaining as well as easy to cast and uphold over large areas. I never–” He looked up at Tony again, an echo of his earlier shock visible. “I didn’t know.”

“I didn’t want you to,” Tony replied thoughtlessly. Then winced at how that must’ve sounded. “I mean, I didn’t think you were... uh.” Interested.

His brain threw in that Loki wasn’t interested – Loki adored him.

A grin spread on his face. Sure, ‘I adore you’ was vague enough to leave him with a bit of uncertainty, but it was also... a lot. And god, how Loki had said it.

He wanted to hear it again.

Loki went, “Well, as is apparent... I am.” He gave Tony a self-ironic, slightly lopsided smile.

Tony huffed out a laugh, even as his stomach gave its best butterfly performance at the fact that Loki had admitted it, just like that. (Well, there was the question what exactly he had admitted, given that Tony hadn’t said a specific thing for him to admit to, but whatever–)

“And yes,” Loki continued, “while I didn’t know about – you either, what I actually meant was...” he hesitated, then quietly finished, “...me.”

What?

“Of course, I was aware that I valued you as a friend, but not... more.” There was a hint of sheepishness in it, and once again, Loki looked a bit thrown.

Tony’s heart sank. He thought of the way Loki had reacted to being affected by the spell; how he had first looked at Tony and then sat there all confused.

All of a sudden, Tony was unsure if he had just read into things, if he had heard meanings that simply hadn’t been there. “Did the spell get it mixed up?” he asked, the words tasting like ash in his mouth.

Loki stared at him, and blurted out, “No.”

Oh, thank god–

“No, I. While I might not have known, now that I do...” Loki trailed off, seeming lost in thought. In a blink, he was back, turning a smile on Tony. “Do believe me, it is definitely – definitely more.”

Tony felt his face heat up at the look Loki gave him – like he had found something exciting and intriguing, and was itching to unwrap it(–him).

“Oh,” he managed.

Loki’s smile widened a bit. “Quite.”

“Uhm,” Tony continued, eloquently.

Loki huffed out a laugh, and just as quickly as it had appeared, the heat in his eyes went and left behind pure warmth.

‘I adore you,’ Tony's brain played back.

Yeah, there was no saving him now. He was going to melt and become one with Loki's couch.

Loki chuckled. “I’d rather you not.”

Whoops, must’ve said that out loud.

“Yeah. On the list of things I want to get it on with, your couch is only physically close to number one.”

Loki let out a small laugh, pleased and full of mirth. Tony thought he’d deliver all the lines he knew if they made him laugh like that.

“That wouldn’t be you, would it?” Loki teased.

Returning his grin, Tony allowed, “Well, I guess it’s physically closer to number two.”

Loki’s brows drew up a touch. “Two, hmm?” Oh, it was back. “I could help with that... of course, I would have to stay nearby to ascertain the spell is working as intended,” he stated diplomatically, cool as a cucumber as he sat there and talked about watching Tony have sex with a clone of himself; the only signs that he was more joking than serious being the smile playing around his mouth, and the light spark of amusement in his eyes.

(God, he loved Loki so much.)

“Noted,” Tony said, grinning from ear to ear.

Loki's hint of a smile blossomed to a full one, and soon enough, they were grinning at each other like absolute idiots.

It was unreal. Tony wasn’t sure what he had done to deserve this: the wonder that was Loki beaming at him in open affection and joy.

What was he even still doing on this couch? When Loki was right there, looking like he wouldn’t mind at all if Tony just threw himself at him. Which was tempting (god, was it tempting), but despite his body buzzing with excitement at the prospect of being able to get up and close with Loki's, he also just... didn’t feel in a hurry to. Like there was no rush.

Strangely, and though he had wanted this for a while, he’d be... happy – he’d actually be happy to stay right where he was for the moment; happy to take it slow. The anticipation and tension crackling between them only made the wait that much sweeter, knowing that time would do its lovely linear job and nudge them right towards each other. Granted, maybe not for a good number of hours – they had plans for the day, after all – but once all the pranks had been played, and all their teammates tricked... well.

He lowered his voice, tone intimate as if Loki was sitting across from him already. “Have dinner with me.”

Immediately, Loki answered, “Where?” Tony smiled at the note of eagerness in it; how it had almost made it sound like another, unusually pronounced version of ‘Yes.’

“Wherever you’d like.”

Loki smiled, warmth and heart flutter inducing – and like he wanted to kiss Tony a bit. (Or more than a bit? Yes. That. Anything.) “I’d like that,” he said, all quiet contentment and joyous anticipation, and Tony kind of felt like he was going to explode. But like, softly. Into butterflies and shit. “A lot,” Loki added then, as if that was in any way reasonable.

“Yeah?” Tony breathed, unable to clear his head for any kind of more advanced commentary.

Loki’s smile widened as he hummed his agreement. Again, watching Tony with an amused air, like he was enjoying the effect he had on him. But there was something so... warm. Fond. About it – as if there wasn’t a thing he’d rather be looking at.

Dear god, Tony wasn't going to survive this.

It was pretty funny, actually – all the shenanigans he'd taken without batting an eye, laughing and quipping at whatever unholy blend of annoyance and entertainment Loki had thought up that time... when all that had been needed to take him out was Loki simply looking at him.

Like that.

Sweet baby Jesus, the things Loki did to him. (And would do to him, probably – later. If Tony asked nicely. Or something. God, Tony, get your mind out of the gutter.)

Wrestling his thoughts back to PG-13 territory, he couldn’t help but be relieved that out of all the spells Loki could have chosen to start off the day, it had been this one. He didn't even want to imagine how long it would have taken them to get to this point otherwise – or if it would have happened, ever. Because even putting aside the (kind of amusing) fact that Loki had apparently been entirely clueless about his not-all-platonic feelings for Tony, Tony himself would’ve never made a move. After all, why gamble a good – a fucking great – thing on the minimal chance for a possibly better one? His track record with relationships was shit – and what would be the point in even trying for more (something he wasn’t good at in the first place) if he ruined things attempting it? So, yeah. No matter how much he wanted it, he’d probably never have taken that step.

And it kind of felt like a miracle, how Loki had just... magicked that into being. Sure, it might have been all kinds of unintentional – god, that was actually hilarious; the god of mischief pranking himself into romance – but that didn’t make any part of it any less genuine, or true.

...hold up.

If today was their first day... (was it their first day, officially? He’d have to ask Loki later) ...would their anniversary be April Fools’?

Tony let out a laugh, unable to hold it back under the wave of amusement and joy he felt just then. April Fools’ Anniversary. He loved it.

Loki made a questioning noise, smiling at him. And though Tony suspected Loki would love that fun fact as well, he was also pretty sure that it was a little early in the game for anniversary talk.

So instead, he went, “It’s funny, isn’t it. That this happened today – very on brand, considering.” He threw Loki a meaningful look.

Grinning, Loki said, “Indeed.” And then, quietly as his expression gentled and turned into a fond smile: “I’m glad it did.”

Feeling like his insides were glowing with warmth, Tony swallowed around the sudden knot in his throat. “Me too.” To know Loki... something-ed him back was incredible on its own. But to know that Loki was actually glad to have this become more, when he hadn’t wanted that before; when he would've likely been perfectly content to just be friends with Tony... he couldn’t describe what that did to him.

He felt like a mess – a warm, melty, adored mess.

And he couldn't wait: to discover all the pranks Loki had planned for today; to get to that dinner and see what happened; to make it to next year and then do it all over again.

Except, he could – wait.

With how exhilarating and fun it would be – and sure, it wouldn't be all the time; they’d definitely have quiet and boring days – but knowing all that would come, all there was to look forward to... he really could wait.

In fact... he’d love to.