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Tony stood by the entrance to the compound and tried to relax his fidgeting with the paper bag in his hands. Loki was supposed to teleport back any moment, and Tony had no intention of showing how nervous he felt. He was only giving a simple gift for his good friend.
Except for the fact he’d spent around two weeks asking every Aesir he’d met about Magical accessories and another month crafting a magic-containing amulet with an Asgardian design.
Loki was dividing his time between the Avengers, as a new member of the team, and New Asgard, helping the surviving Aesir settle on Earth.
He didn’t have to help the Aesir. Thor had given him his freedom. But Loki kept going back, and Tony knew it had more to do with missing his old home than caring for the people or pleasing Thor.
So, Tony had made the amulet. It really was just a simple gift, nothing out of the ordinary for him, so the Avengers could take their teasing remarks (“this for your crazy leather-wearing loverboy?”) and suggestions (”Just ask him out already Tony. Your pining is physically hurtful to watch.”) and shove them up-
Tony jumped as a quick flash of green was all the warning he got before Loki materialized in front of him, a smirk spread across his lips and eyes shining.
Oh, Tony knew that expression. He loved that expression despite feeling wary about it.
“What did you do and who do you need to hide from this time?” Tony crossed his arms in mock-reproach, his nervousness quickly giving way to amusement.
Despite how easily Tony got nervous thinking about Loki, the other’s presence always made him lose that edge incredibly fast.
“I may or may not have replaced all of the Aesir warriors’ weapons with cheap LARPing accessories. Except for Mjölnir, for obvious reasons.” Loki said matter-of-factly.
Tony made a weird, choked-up noise somewhere between a bark of laughter and a groan. That had to be hilarious to witness, but a group of pissed off, superpowered warriors wasn’t much fun to deal with. Tony knew that firsthand from pranking the Avengers. At least, until they started to prank him back.
“Don’t worry too much. The real weapons will be easily found soon enough,” Loki soothed. He hadn’t done anything too bothersome ever since Tony had to hide him from a really pissed off Valkyrie and she broke one of his holo-tables.
“At least tell me you took pictures.” Tony already knew he would help Loki get away with it, but he was always more willing when he got to enjoy the tricks as well.
“I took a video, actually.” Loki’s smirk widened as his Starkphone materialized in his hand.
After they watched the footage, on the giant screen back in Tony’s Suite, and managed to catch their breath again from all the laughing, Tony remembered the gift he planned to give Loki. He just needed to bring it up smoothly.
“You know, Lokes, I’ve been thinking about the lesson you gave me about magical artifacts and what was needed to permanently attach magic to things, and I figured, why not try creating it myself?” The way Loki’s eyes sparkled with interest and joy about talking magic was a good start.
“I know I can’t do magic myself, but the artifact itself isn’t actually magical, it only has to be created from suitable materials that would work as a conductor as well as a battery, but to cosmic energy instead of electricity, and in the right technique, so…” Tony trailed off from his rant, a bit embarrassed, and reached for the small paper bag he left by their feet to drop it on Loki’s lap.
Loki’s face jumped through a series of expressions, all too fast to identify, before it went completely neutral.
Tony forced himself not to continue his blabbering. Loki was even worse than him with dealing with feelings, so going neutral was either really good or really bad. Tony just had to be patient enough to let Loki settle on something.
Loki took the jewelry box out of the bag and opened it with delicate touches, as if afraid to break it. Then he just stared at the amulet, blinking.
That looked like a good start.
Tony waited a few more moments for a reaction, but when none seemed to come, he broke the silence first. Patience really wasn’t his forte.
“Are you at least going to tell me if I got it right? I worked hard to make that, Bambi. I even looked into Asgardian designs so it would fit your ridiculous armor and even more ridiculous helmet, which was no easy task,” Tony teased.
That seemed to finally get Loki out of his trance.
“Oh, I’m terribly sorry Anthony, I was not aware you were so desperate for my compliments,” Loki teased back, a smirk rising to decorate his lips, but something softer held in his eyes.
“You know me, Reindeer Games, always looking for someone to stroke my ego.” Tony leaned further back on the couch and opened his arms as if waiting for the ego-stroking to begin.
He got an unimpressed look before Loki took the amulet in hand and inspected it.
Loki hummed as he passed his long fingers over the golden chains and inspected how they merged into the casings that held the gem in place. As his fingers passed over the gem, they glowed a bit green, and Tony watched with satisfaction how the gem seemed to light up as well.
“The amulet might be adequate for magical use, but if you planned to go for Asgardian designs, you missed your mark spectacularly,” Loki concluded a few moments later.
Tony smiled. Loki had a way to make everything sound unimpressive and mildly insulting when he wanted to, but if one listened, there was actually constructive criticism behind the words.
It was a true talent very few appreciated (Tony was definitely one of them).
“That has to be the Aesirs’ fault. I asked them for references. Well, Dr. Foster, too, but she wasn’t too interested in jewelry in her small trip to Asgard back then.”
Loki cracked a small, pleased smile.
“It would make sense since most Aesir are highly oblivious to their own history. The design they referred to as ‘Asgardian’ is actually mostly taken from Alfheim. The original Aesir designs were horrendous and impractical for magic, so they raided Alfheim for their jewelry instead.”
That was… a bit disconcerting, considering Tony had gotten to meet all the surviving Aesir by now, even if he hadn’t gotten to know most of them well.
So he chose the easier, and actually more fascinating topic to focus on.
“What more can you tell me of Alfheim?”
Loki looked like the cat who caught the canary, and Tony couldn’t help feeling pleased with himself even before hearing the story.
“The elves are quite fascinating people. They are mostly magical beings, with a variety of abilities and physiques. They build on magic the way Midgard builds on technology. On Alfheim, wine flows like water in the rivers, the fruits are candy, and there are more open gardens than buildings, though the enchanted forests are even more plentiful. Most buildings are actually made from living plants.”
Tony gaped for a moment. That was the stupidest description of a place Tony had ever heard, and Loki was probably messing with him. He was about to call bullshit when Loki added matter-of-factly: ”Also, some elves ride on winged felines as if they were steeds.”
Tony burst into laughter. Yeah, Loki was definitely messing with him. It took a few minutes before Tony could calm down enough to speak. When he looked up, Loki was wearing a very fake-innocent smile.
“Oh really now?” Tony teased. “I would like to see that.”
“Are you certain?” Loki asked.
“Oh yeah. Definitely,” Tony agreed.
“I suppose that can be arranged, then, since I found the secret paths to Alfheim from here the other day. Apparently, they are having a festival in the capital today and I would like to go. Would you like to join me?” Loki asked, face still fake innocence.
Tony could feel his stomach fill with giddiness. He didn’t get to hear the actual story behind Alfheim, but Loki offered to take him there, so it didn’t matter. And he offered in a way that almost made it sound like a date . Was it supposed to be a date? And he would get to see another planet , learn about it with Loki as his guide and maybe-date and they’ll-
“Anthony?” Loki asked, and Tony focused back to see the new tension in his friend’s shoulders.
Right. Apparently Tony got so ahead of himself he didn’t even answer.
“I’d like that,” he managed, voice a bit unsteady with excitement.
The answering grin Loki gave him was so radiant Tony found himself thinking he wouldn’t regret this even if it ended in disaster.
Loki looked down at the amulet still in his grasp for a moment, then he opened the clasp and offered it to Tony. “Would you be so kind?” He asked.
Tony took it and waited for Loki to turn and hold his hair up. While he slipped the chains around Loki’s neck, he heard a small, whispered, “thank you.”
The chain secured, Tony let his fingers ghost over Loki’s nape and shoulders for a few seconds, then he stood and Looked at FRIDAY’s nearest camera.
“FRI, please tell the Avengers that Loki and I won’t be available today?”
“Sure thing, Boss. Should I inform Ms. Potts you won’t be here to sign the forms she had for you?”
“Yeah. Thanks.” Tony had forgotten Pepper planned to come by to make him sign a few documents that afternoon. Well, She had tried to convince him to take a vacation lately. It should be okay.
He offered his hand to Loki.
“Shall we?”
Loki took his hand and rose to his feet. He only warned, “Do not let go,” before he put his other hand on the back of Tony’s head and the world blurred around them.
The first thing Tony noticed about Alfheim, the moment his head stopped spinning, was the addictive smell of sweets. He opened his eyes slowly -not even able to remember when he closed them- and found Loki’s face mere inches from his. He swallowed and lowered his eyes just in time to see Loki licking his lips, but instead of moving closer, Loki cleared his throat and straightened his back.
Tony awkwardly made his hands let go on their desperate grip on Loki -again, when did that happen?- and moved a few steps back.
Now, without Loki occupying his entire field of vision, Tony managed to take a look around. They were standing in a garden, spacious and green. On Tony’s right, there was a thick and tall wall made of vines, and the large row of bushes on Tony’s left was full of radiant flowers and weird, colorful fruits that almost looked like-
“Wait, they actually have candy for fruit? I thought you were messing with me!” Tony gaped at Loki, who was laughing at him openly.
“The Elves have long perfected their magic on botany and natural environment. The enchanted forests in this realm are a good place to research the subject,” Loki said when he calmed. He offered Tony his elbow in a gentlemen-y manner as if he wasn’t laughing in Tony’s expense mere moments before.
Tony tried to send him a stern look, but he was too excited and amazed to manage. In the end, he just hooked his hand around Loki’s arm and let him walk Tony to a gate on the far side of the wall, Loki explaining all he could about the environmental magic of the realm.
Loki had explained that the vine wall beside them was enchanted to hold the privacy of the event, but when they passed through the gate, Tony was still overwhelmed with the hard blow of sounds and smells that hit him.
He looked around, now able to see a big plaza full of small wooden stalls that seemed like they grew directly from the ground. A few of the bigger shops had tents to hold the extra space needed. On the far side, he could see a big flower-like palace and giant trees holding what looked like an entire city.
The people themselves were the most fascinating, though. There were a lot of species moving around, in all shapes, sizes, and colors. The people behind most of the stalls, the ones Tony assumed were elves, were tall and willowy figures with very attractive features and androgynous looks.
“Tolkein knew what he was talking about, huh?” Tony asked, dumbfounded.
“Mostly? Not at all. But he got a few things close enough.” Loki pulled on Tony’s hand a bit to get his attention.
Now that Tony had his attention back on Loki, the elves suddenly didn’t seem quite as attractive.
“How about we get something nice to eat?” Loki suggested.
“As long as it won’t poison me. Or compel me into having sex with someone,” Tony said.
Loki raised an eyebrow.
“Actually, sex pollen is okay with me as long as I get to choose who my lucky partner is,” Tony amended and leered at his friend.
“I’ll make sure you eat the right dishes, then,” Loki snarked and turned toward a stall a few feet away.
Tony could have sworn the tips of Loki’s ears turned pink, but he decided not to comment on it at that moment.
The outing was looking more and more like a date. Maybe it was time he listened to the other Avengers and confess. Maybe Loki would actually accept him.
Loki bought them a few dishes to try. The elves liked a lot of sweetness in their food, which was much more to Loki’s taste than Tony’s, but Tony did enjoy the spicier or saltier dishes.
After they ate, they passed through the stalls, Tony asking about everything and anything like a child, and Loki answering his questions with amused exasperation, explaining what he could and commenting on things Tony didn’t even think to ask about. He also sent every purchase they made to a pocket dimension, so they didn’t have to carry anything.
They even got to see the giant winged cats Loki mentioned. They were stationed in a big, open stable of sorts, and when Loki asked, the guards in charge let them pet a few of the friendlier ones.
The cats didn’t even look like lions or other big felines, but actual huge house cats with wings; they even acted like it, which was way more adorable than was even fair.
“You know, I was thinking of getting a pet Alpaca at some point, maybe if I retire,” Tony said absentmindedly. His hand was buried in the fur behind one of the riding-cats’ ears, which rewarded him with extremely loud purring.
Loki hummed but didn’t comment further. He was a bit busy trying to stay on his feet with five riding cat cubs trying to climb him.
“I think I’d like to adopt one of these instead. Think Pepper will fry me if I take one back?” Tony smiled.
Loki chuckled. He managed to get one of the toys and throw it, distracting the cubs off of him.
“I do not believe Lady Potts would mind much. The elves, on the other hand, would. They do not like others taking what they consider to be their own,” he said.
“So alpaca is still the best option?” Tony joked.
Loki laughed.
They went back to the stalls not long after.
When they passed close to a big tent-shop full of clothes, Tony stopped to look. He always liked shopping for clothes. He had a fairly good eye for style and a great grasp of materials.
The few outfits outside the tent had a bit of a medieval look to them, but the fabrics were smooth and seamless and felt great against the skin when Tony touched them.
“Do you wish to go inside, Anthony?” Loki asked him, sounding every bit amused.
Tony suddenly got an amazing idea.
He turned to Loki and inspected him for a moment, took note of the green dress shirt and slim black vest that did wonders to his figure (and Tony suspected was from the lady’s section), and the tight-fitting black jeans. Loki took on earthly fashion as fast as he did everything else. He looked wonderful.
That said, the Earth-clothes looked foreign in a place like this.
“We should dress in something more fitting the environment. I bet you’ll look great in any outfit I can come up with,” Tony challenged.
Loki hummed and observed Tony slowly, making Tony feel a bit self-conscious.
“Only if I get to do the same,” he agreed.
Tony smiled. He liked that idea.
Inside the tent, Tony worked fast to inspect the different styles and materials and calculate what will work best for Loki’s physique. In a few minutes, he already had a stack of potential clothes in his hands.
Loki, on the other hand, strolled slowly by the shelves and took his time to pick something up.
When he did, he presented it to Tony and scoffed at the small mountain of clothes in Tony’s hands.
“I am not staying in this shop for hours playing as your doll, Anthony. You get two tries to dress me, and if I do not find the outfit suitable, I will choose my own.”
Sheepishly, Tony nodded and looked through the stack in his hands. He was almost certain what to choose when his eyes fell on a shelf he didn’t yet get to inspect.
There was a dress of sorts, deep green with black and brown designs around the hems. The shoulders were mostly uncovered, and the middle section was fitted in a way that allowed an underbust corset to fit around it. It was designed in a way that would better fit someone considerably flat-chested and lean. With one of the underbust corsets Tony found earlier, it was perfect.
He presented it to Loki.
Loki raised his eyebrows at the choice, but he didn’t look offended.
“I bet you’d look great in any outfit I pick. I never said it’d be strictly menswear.” Tony grinned.
“That is true,” Loki said. He sounded way too amused, and Tony wondered if he missed something there.
Then Loki took the outfit and walked behind one of the fitting curtains.
Tony took the outfit Loki chose for him - gray tunic with black leather accents on the shoulders and sleeves, and leather pants - and did the same.
He finished first, having a much simpler outfit, and had a moment to inspect himself in a mirror that was enchanted to somehow show all his sides with minimal movement.
Loki knew his stuff.
Finally the curtains Loki disappeared behind slid open and Tony turned to look at his handiwork.
Then he gaped.
The figure that slipped from behind the curtains looked a lot like Loki usually did, but had the face a bit rounder and with fuller lips, longer wavy hair, and was even slimmer with small, barely noticeable breasts covered by the dress and held over the corset. The amulet Tony made fell softly right above where the bust formed.
Loki chuckled and his -her?- voice was a few notes higher than usual, but still low enough to sound sultry.
“Was this not how you pictured these clothes to fit?” She teased. “Or did you forget I’m a natural shapeshifter?”
Tony swallowed a few times to clear his suddenly dry throat.
“Wow, I… Wow,” he finally managed to croak, rather lamely.
It wasn’t that Loki’s usual form was any less beautiful than this female form in front of him. It was that Tony was way more used to showing open appreciation to women. It wasn’t easy being a bisexual man with his position in the business world.
Loki smiled and a bit of color painted her cheeks and ears. Tony wondered if Loki had less practice hiding emotions in this form. Was this a form Loki saw as a part of him? Her? Them?
“Should I, uh, use different pronouns? Or is this just for show?” Tony asked. He really wasn’t sure how to react. As far as he knew, Aesir weren’t exactly experts on gender and sexual orientation and didn’t take variety too well.
“All pronouns are accepted. I do not mind either way, regardless of the form I take.” Loki’s voice was warm and light, fitting the blush on her cheeks.
“Well you look absolutely amazing, sweetheart,” Tony internally winced at the open endearment but didn’t show any sign of regret. “Though, I think you actually cheated. The dare was proving you’d look great in whatever I chose as you were. Even women’s clothes.”
“Yes, but I believe you missed that the clothes you chose are not, in fact, womenswear. This-” she gestured the dress around her “-is a male-fitted battle undergown. The elves use it under their armors.” She flashed a smile.
Tony did not know that. Most of the elves were so slim, it was hard to tell the difference.
He hummed and walked around Loki to inspect the outfit better.
“I’d still like to see you in a male form with this if it’s okay,” he decided.
With a small shimmer, Loki transformed back to his male form. The dress -undergown- did fit just as good on that form.
“You like it?” He asked.
Loki turned to the mirror for a moment. He also called part of his armor with his magic, adding vambraces and pauldron as well as his new, open half-helmet on top. It fit perfectly.
“I believe I do,” Loki said. “How about you, Anthony? Keeping my choice of clothes?”
Tony considered it for a moment. Loki’s choices were very flattering, and on most occasions, Tony would take them gladly. There was just one thing he wanted to see before he chose.
“Think you can find me a nice undergown as well, babe?” He asked. Apparently, the moment he started with endearments, he couldn’t stop. Loki didn’t seem to mind, though. He merely chuckled and went to find a new outfit.
A few minutes later he was back, a black undergown with silver decorations, a bit like Tony’s undersuits, and a deep red, full corset.
Tony smiled and took it, walking back behind the curtain and dressing up.
When he walked out, Loki wolf-whistled like the asshole he was, and Tony laughed.
He inspected himself in the mirror, pleased to find the outfit made him look slimmer and taller, and the muscles in his arms didn’t stand out in a weird way like he worried they would. When Loki joined beside him, it made the perfect picture.
“This is it.” He smiled.
Loki returned the smile and put his hands on Tony’s upper arms for a second, then turned to pay.
When they walked back out wearing their new clothes, it was already dark, sunset came and went without their notice.
They walked in comfortable silence for a while, and Tony contemplated if he should confess now. It felt right, somehow.
He noticed there weren’t many visitors left, and even a few stalls had closed.
“Is the festival ending?” He asked.
“It will continue until morning. Most guests went to watch the main event.” Loki pointed to a big tent at the front of the stall row that Tony was sure wasn’t there before they entered the clothing store.
“And what is that event? You didn’t tell me there was one,” Tony asked as they continued their stroll toward the tent.
Loki didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he looked at Tony as they got to the tent’s opening. He had an awkward smile on his face, and Tony really wanted to know what was inside that tent that made Loki obviously nervous. He couldn’t hear anything from outside, the tent probably enchanted like the vine wall was.
“It’s a show where elves compete to win their audiences with seduction. The show tends to end with an orgy of sorts,” Loki confessed.
Tony snorted. “So you’re telling me it’s a space strip club?”
Loki opened his mouth, stopped to think for a moment, then closed his mouth and shrugged, making a so-so gesture with his head.
Tony chuckled, but hesitated before he asked, “wanna go in?”
Loki swallowed, a small crease forming between his brows.
“If you’d like to…” He said slowly, obviously hesitant.
Tony took in the image in front of him, Loki in a dress of sorts, with half his armor on, gold glittering with thousands of fairy lights that lit the festival around them.
“Nah, I think I’m good.” He smiled.
Loki’s face showered with unreadable emotions before it settled on none at all, and Tony knew it was now or never.
“Loki, I…” He cleared his throat, but before he could continue, Loki took a step forward, right into Tony’s personal space, and raised his hands to softly cup Tony’s cheeks. He leaned forward slowly, making his intentions known before he let his lips touch Tony’s. It was soft and chaste, and Tony placed his arms around Loki’s waist and smiled against his lips before kissing Loki back.
He paused after a few strokes of lips and smiled at Loki.
"Was this a date?" He asked. He needed to make sure.
"Yes." Loki stroked his cheeks, then went back to kissing him.
Tony let Loki kiss him a bit, then darted his tongue out, seeking entrance to Loki’s mouth.
Loki actually growled, but instead of giving way, he broke the kiss and pulled Tony to a bench behind the tent for the main event.
When they teleported back to the Avengers compound about an hour later, their lips were swollen red, and the undergowns they wore were messy.
They appeared in the entrance to the compound, making a delivery man with eight large pizzas in hand jump and almost drop all of them.
Tony apologized and paid him extra tip while Loki grabbed all the food and walked inside.
In the common area, they found the team chatting.
Natasha was, of course, the first to notice them, smiling at their looks. Clint saw them just a moment later. He burst into hysterical laughter, making the rest of the team notice them.
Sam joined the laughter, doubling over in his seat. Bruce was smiling; Rhodey had a shit-eating grin on his face and was clapping his hands, and Steve flushed and looked like he wasn’t sure if he was allowed to look at Tony and Loki’s clothes or not, but there was also the shadow of a smile on his lips.
Thor was the first to speak.
“Brother! I am delighted to see you got to confess what your heart longed for! Friend Tony will make a good courting partner to you, I am sure!” He got up and marched to them, taking care to take the stack of pizzas from Loki’s hands and put it on the table before squeezing them both to his chest in a crushing hug.
When he let go, Loki leveled him an annoyed look.
“Were you not meant to stay on New Asgard?” He asked.
“I came to warn you against visiting New Asgard for the time being. The Aesir are not pleased with your last trick upon them,” Thor answered gravely, then grinned.
“I believe you will find better things to occupy yourself for now,” he joked.
Loki looked a bit like a pissed-off kitten. Tony wrapped an arm around his waist to distract him before he summoned one of his new daggers.
The brothers did care deeply for each other, but they ended up annoying and angering one another more often than not.
“Was everyone trying to set us up?” Tony asked the room.
A chorus of agreements filled the room, most of them mumbled around a bite of pizza, and Natasha added, “the pining was getting impossible. We were debating locking you in a room filled with sex toys and asking Dr. Strange to put wards so you can’t leave.”
Loki scoffed, but Tony laughed and looked at his lover.
“That sounds like a nice idea,” he commented, and immediately amended, “without the Strange part, of course.”
Loki hummed and let his eyes fall on Tony with interest.
“It did take a -how did you put it? Space Strip club?- To bring us together.” He shrugged.
Someone choked on their pizza, but Tony didn’t bother to see who exactly. He was busy pushing Loki back into his suite.