Work Text:
Tony rubbed his temples, trying to massage away the tension, the soreness building behind his eyes doubtlessly preluding a heavy headache. He sighed and let his eyes fall shut, just for a moment.
When that resulted in him jerking forward toward his desk, and nearly landing face-first on a screwdriver, he stood up and stumbled over to the couch and laid back, grimacing. His head throbbed, pulsing in time with his heartbeat, and he covered his eyes with his hands and asked JARVIS to dim the lights. He groaned. The pain was getting worse.
He should get up, take a handful of pills, and cross his fingers that it would make the pain manageable by the time Loki got back. But trying to sit up made his vision go dark, and the blood in his head jostled like jello that had been slapped.
He curled up on his side, eyes squeezed shut, and watched the swimming blackness of the back of his eyelids until he eventually drifted off to sleep.
***
Some time later, he woke to a gentle hand stroking against his hair, rhythmic and soothing, long fingers catching in the strands and scratching against his scalp just the way he liked.
Loki.
He opened his eyes, confused, because Loki shouldn’t be here this early, shouldn’t- oh. He’d slept longer than he thought, longer than he’d meant.
Loki was sitting sideways on the edge of the couch, his legs beside Tony’s head, and he smiled softly when Tony looked at him.
He was dressed impeccably, in that black suit of his that was Tony’s favorite on him, fitted perfectly, and just tight enough that looking away from him was impossible — and damn, if he didn’t know it, too — with the green trim that was the exact shade of his eyes, his hair combed neatly and curly at the ends — Tony’s preference, not Loki’s.
It was 7 o’clock, Tony realized, and he was supposed to be dressed and ready by now, and he was still in the workshop in his sweats — and, ugh, his sweat — and he hadn’t showered yet, and even with Loki transporting them, they’d be late for their reservation.
Tony tried to sit up, to scramble off the couch and sprint to the elevator. Maybe he could-
But Loki pushed him back with a hand to his chest, firm, but not forceful.
Tony blinked at him, confused. He needed to be up thirty minutes ago, needed to be prepared for their date, to take Loki to that place he’d been talking about all month, the one with the roast duck Loki wanted to try and the fancy ice sculptures.
“Loki, if we don’t go now, we won’t make the reservation time.”
He should have gotten up sooner, should have taken medicine and powered through it, but instead he fell asleep like the world’s worst boyfriend who couldn’t even take his lover on a proper date.
“We’re not going,” Loki murmured, fingers finding Tony’s hair once more and that tender look never leaving his face.
“But you wanted to-“
“To spend the time with you. That’s all I want, you know that, right?”
And Tony didn’t know what to say. Sure, he wanted to spend time with Loki, too, loved nothing more than just being near him and talking to him, but he also loved making Loki happy, and taking him out was one of the ways he did that.
Loki just rolled his eyes and leaned back, pulling his hand away. Tony missed it immediately. It didn’t make the headache disappear, but it... it helped.
But Loki only rearranged himself so he could climb onto the couch with Tony, still in his suit, careless of his perfectly styled hair, and pulled Tony into his arms.
And it was nice, so nice, to just be held, doted on, loved, especially when he wasn’t feeling well. He closed his eyes, and basked in the warmth, the comfort, the gentleness of Loki’s hands rubbing his back.
Loki kissed his hair, lips lingering a long moment, and when he spoke, his breath caressed Tony’s forehead.
“This is just as good.”