It was an ordinary Saturday evening at the tower. Loki was in their room peacefully reading one of the books they found in the local library. The god had to admit, John Green was a decent writer. Everything around him was quiet and the only sound Loki could hear was the rain which hit the window. It was perfect.
And then Peter came in. The boy opened the door with such force it almost went flying.
The god of mischief isn’t someone who scares easily. The trickster has encountered dozens of monsters in their life and fought against the most horrid creatures! Terrorist? Nah. Chitauri? Easy. Dark elves? Child’s play. A 15 years old Peter Parker burging through his door on a quiet Saturday evening? Well, that’s a completely different story.
“On Odin’s beard!” Loki jumped in surprise, dropping the book “Maybe knock next time?”
“Oh, I’m sorry!” Peter seemed to be amused by his friend’s reaction “I didn’t mean to scare you,” he said.
After closing the door behind him Peter put an enormous box he had been holding the entire time on the desk and jumped on Loki’s bed, bouncing a few times. The god ogled the mysterious package. It wasn’t unusual for the teenager to bring weird midgardian things to show to his Jötun friend, but what in the hell was a Death Star?
“What is that?” they have finally asked.
“Those are LEGOs,” the boy responded “You said I could bring the set to you, and that we will put it together.” Loki did say that, yes, but why did Peter want to build what Loki assumed was going to be a machine of mass destruction. Seeing the trickster’s confused expression the boy continued “It is a replica of a weapon from ‘Star Wars’. It’s a movie that I really like, and I got this set for my birthday,” he added
“I have never seen the movie,” Loki confessed. Peter’s eyes lit up and a brilliant idea formed in his mind.
“We should have a sleepover!” the teenager jumped off the bed and enthusiastically spinned around the room. Loki laughed at how ridiculous, yet very amusing this looked like. The god heard about the so-called ‘sleepovers’ before but had never participated in any. “We could have a movie marathon and start building The Death Star! This is going to be so awesome!!!!”
That wasn’t how Loki imagined this day to go, but how could they ever say no when Peter was so excited about spending time with them. The god of mischief was becoming soft.
“We could invite you know who...” the boy added with a smirk which gained him an eye roll from the trickster.
“I am never telling you anything personal ever again.” Loki said, already regretting telling the spider-man about his feelings for you. “But you’re the one who is going to invite them.”
“Aww, are you shy?” Peter teased which resulted in him being hit in the face with a small decorative pillow.
“And for that comment you are also going to the store for the snacks!” the god said, taking the wallet out of their interdimensional pocket and gave it to his friend.
“Hot Cheetos, right?” the young avenger asked to make sure Loki was in the mood for this kind of food. The Jötun nodded.
“Oh, and buy a bag of sour patches, please”
“You hate sour patches!”
“You wanted to invite Y/N and they like them,” Loki stated. He wasn’t looking at Peter anymore but he could feel the boy’s smile.
“Awww, that’s so cute!” he laughed
“Get out,” Loki said and picked up the book that was laying on the floor all this time “And don’t forget the sour patches!”
“I won’t, don’t worry loverboy,” the teenager put the wallet in his pocket and opened the door. Before he closed it he turned to Loki with a teasing smirk. “Are you reading ‘The Fault in Our Stars’?” he asked and fortunately was able to close the door before another pillow hit him.
Heading to the exit, Peter noticed you standing in front of the vending machine. He sneaked up on you, and when he was sure you were distracted, he hugged you from behind, gaining a surprised squeak from you.
“It’s good to see you too kiddo,” you laughed and affectionately ruffled the boy’s hair.
“Are you free tonight?” he asked, hoping you’d say yes. “Loki and I are having a sleepover in his room and it would be nice if you could join us!”
You loved spending time with Peter. He was fun to be around! Everyone loved him, even Loki! Especially Loki, to be honest. Your heart melted every time you have seen those two interact with each other. Their friendship was very unusual but neither of them cared.
“I would love to!” you replied happily
“Great! I’m going to the store to get some snacks and I will be right back!” the boy shouted as he was walking out of the building. God, this kid was so chaotic. Maybe that’s why Loki likes him so much.
Speaking of Loki, you decided to go to their room and keep them company. After walking up the stairs to the second floor, you were finally standing in front of his door and knocked two times.
“I see you have finally learned how to knock,” Loki opened the door and said, thinking the person behind it was Peter. Imagine their surprise when they noticed you were the one standing there.
“I wasn’t aware I couldn’t do that,” you greeted him with a smile. “But thank you for telling me. It means a lot,” you playfully smacked Loki’s shoulder and invited yourself in.
“Forgive me,” the trickster said. They could feel their face getting warmer but hoped you couldn’t see their cheeks turning red. ”I thought it was Peter.”
“He has just left the tower. Said he was going to buy us some snacks for tonight,” you sat down on the black armchair and put your right elbow on the table. With the corner of your eye you spotted a LEGO box on Loki’s bed. Your eyes lit up with excitement. This night was going to be so awesome!
“Then I assume you know about our little sleepover.”
“Our little spider was very excited to inform me. By the way,” you changed the subject and pointed at the book Loki was holding the whole time. “Are you reading ‘The Fault in our Stars’?”
Loki blushed and awkwardly scratched his neck.
“You mentioned once that it was good so I thought I would give it a try.” You didn’t notice their rosy cheeks, or at least you pretended you didn’t.
“And is it?” You were curious what Loki thought of the book. He loved to read, and you hoped he would like your recommendations.
“Is it what?”
“Is it good?
“Oh, yes,” Loki was praying to anyone who was up there that Peter would come back soon or else he was going to embarrass himself in front of you. “It's really good. I like it.”
Thankfully his prayers were heard because Peter came in before you could say anything else.
Throwing all the snacks on the bed the young avenger shouted, “IT’S A SLEEPOVER BABY!”
An hour later the three of you were building the Death Star Peter brought while munching on your food. In your comfiest pyjamas, of course. Now that you think of it you were glad you joined because seeing Loki in their casual, baggy clothes with their hair up was the best thing ever. Not that you were staring.
“We should put a movie on,” Peter suggested. You and Loki nodded in agreement but when the teenager opened Netflix none of you could decide what to choose. After a long discussion, you decided a horror movie was a good choice.
“Aren’t you too young to watch stuff like this?” Loki asked Peter “Aren’t you afraid you will piss your pants, young man?” You smirked at that comment but didn’t want to get involved. You loved to see Loki messing with Peter every once in a while. It was great entertainment. Taking a sip from your glass you watched those two as if their conversation was the best sitcom you’ve ever seen.
“Aren’t you afraid you will get a heart attack, old man?” the spider-man sassed. Loki was taken aback by his response, and you laughed so hard your soda almost poured out of your nose.You couldn't stop the giggles coming out of you, and Peter followed your lead right after.
“Okay, that’s enough, just start the movie,” Loki said, pretending to be mad, but even they couldn’t resist the amused smile on their face.
And so you abandoned the half done LEGO set to sit on the couch. Loki was in the middle, thanks to his little arachnid friend. It was Peter’s plan from the very beginning and the scenery was perfect. You would be all scared and want to hug somebody. And because the only person next to you was Loki you would have no choice but to embrace the trickster. And he, being the gentleman he is, would give you all the comfort you needed. And when the moment was perfect the god would gently cup your face in his hand and-
“WHAT THE HELL?!?!?!” You and Loki both jumped when Peter screamed, obviously scared by the scene in the movie. The boy was violently ripped from his little daydream because of a jumpscare. You and Loki looked at each other, clearly amused by his reaction.
“Do you need new pants?” Loki joked, which resulted in them receiving a punch on the shoulder “A pacifier? Should we change your diaper now?” And suddenly Peter launched at the god, knocking him over which made him land on your lap.
Loki had no time to react or even acknowledge the awkward position they had gotten themselves into because the spider-boy was already wrestling with him. You tried to get out but boy, Loki was so freaking heavy! You had no clue when and how, but you joined their little fight at some point. And you had absolutely no idea when Peter got out of there, leaving only you and Loki on the couch, trying to tickle the other one and failing miserably every time. The two of you have completely forgotten Parker was even there. You were so engrossed in the moment the most important thing was Loki’s genuine laugh and your hysterical giggles.
“Are you gonna kiss or what?” Peter interrupted you and threw a pillow in Loki’s face who immediately pulled away and sat on the other side of the couch so you couldn’t see the blush covering their face. You were equally embarrassed but decided to not let Peter have the satisfaction.
“I think he should ask me out first.” you said.
“Are you free this Friday then?” Loki asked jokingly, but still hoping you would be serious about it.
“I’m working on Friday but maybe Thursday?” you smiled at him nervously. “We could go to that little coffee shop around the corner?”
You couldn’t believe what was happening. Loki couldn’t believe it either. Peter was just standing behind the armchair, sipping his drink and trying to understand what was going on.
“Sounds great,” the trickster agreed “Is 3 PM good?”
You didn’t trust your voice, so you nodded enthusiastically. No more words were spoken after that. You and Loki sat at your old places and you put your head on their shoulder. The god put an arm around you and went back to watching the movie.
A few minutes passed and Peter was still standing behind that armchair processing the whole situation while the two of you were discussing your plans for the date.
Sorry it took so long but here’s a cute Steve and kind of Loki fluff. No explanations, just read and find out.
Secret
The tower was quiet, which was just as well because she was exhausted. It had started a few days ago. The exhaustion, the shivers, the sore throat. It had only gotten worse from there.
Clint had joked that she was unclean and to keep away from him. Tony had ordered her to go and rest, making FRIDAY check on her repeatedly, she later found out. Wanda had brought a spicy soup that really cleared her head.
Everyone had been so nice but probably Steve had been the nicest. He came to her room to check on her a couple times. Brought her a hot water bottle last night just in case. Always asked how she was when she was sick of bed and went for a walk.
That was how she had ended up in the social room where they all hung out. There was no one around and just getting there had exhausted her so she lay down on the couch and closed her eyes. Almost immediately she was drifting in that space between awake and asleep.
Distantly, she became aware of light footsteps. It was too much effort to open her eyes and see who it was so she stayed still. They probably thought she was asleep.
They came to stand by the couch and she sensed movement. A blanket was draped over her, keeping her warm, and the corners of her mouth softened into a smile. She absently wondered where the blanket had come from. Tony didn’t keep blankets lying around like some kind of housewife.
Gentle fingers smoothed her cheek, pushing back her hair just a little. The contact had her eyes fluttering open to see who it was.
Steve. Of course it was.
“Thanks Steve,” she mumbled, barely forming words.
“Shh, go back to sleep,” he soothed gently. As if on command, her eyes drifted shut again.
Steve turned away as she fell asleep and crossed the room. He only paused at the doorway, allowing himself a look back at her again, curled up on the couch. His eyes clouded over with an emotion he never let her or anyone else ever see. With a little sigh he turned back into his true form, Loki, and left her not knowing a thing.
