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.