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In the year or so since Loki had become a part of the expanding – and mostly annoying – Avengers team, he had come to know the habits and characters of most of the team reasonably well. Some were easier to get to know than others, but he had at least a passing knowledge of them all and how to best interact with each. Some were indifferent to him, some subtly hostile, while some others were bafflingly friendly from the beginning.
Other than the obvious exception of Thor, those he was the most familiar with consisted of the original core team. After all, he’d done extensive research on the five of them, all to the express intention of getting under their skin. One didn’t simply forget details like that. It didn’t exactly make him popular, though.
The first one to really start to open up – if holding a conversation of more than three sentences at a time counted – was Anthony, much to Loki’s shock. Although perhaps it shouldn’t have been that shocking. He could still remember the way he’d bantered with Loki when they had very clearly been on opposing sides. Even if the effort wasn’t sincerely friendly, he was bold enough to go through the motions of friendliness without too much trouble.
But if it had begun insincerely, the banter between the two of them became warmer with time, the topics they would discuss broadened, and the amount of time spent in one another’s company grew. The others also gradually warmed up to him over time, but none quite as much as Anthony, and Loki came to prefer his company over any of the others’ in any case. He was an interesting human, whose mind never seemed to slow down or stop, constantly churning away at several ideas all at once, never allowing him to really rest on his laurels. Loki could appreciate that, and often found himself drawn into conversations based around Anthony’s ideas, working out hypotheticals with him, offering any insight he felt might be of use, or ‘spit balling’ ideas, as Anthony so charmingly called it.
It was… comforting, to have that sort of time with Anthony. It reminded him a little of the time he’d spent with Frigga growing up, when they would talk about any number of subjects – anything beyond the scope of politics and ‘what it took to rule.’ At the same time it was a completely unique experience to him, to have someone even remotely close to his own level of ingenuity and curiosity, to engage with that sort of kindred spirit.
He enjoyed his time with Anthony – which was a kind of shock by itself.
A side effect of Anthony’s character which Loki had also become familiar with was that when a particular idea or mood overtook him, he could be impossible to talk to. It wasn’t that he was difficult or irritable – although those were both possible – it was that he barely registered that Loki was even in the room.
Loki huffed out a breath, having just spent the last ten minutes regaling the man on his latest exploits halfway across the galaxy only to get a ‘Hm,’ in response. He glared at Anthony’s back, knowing that it was entirely for his own benefit. He’d thought that if he’d given Anthony an exciting enough tale – littered through with hints at interesting technology or science Loki might be convinced to talk about if asked nicely – that he would come out of his focus and pay Loki some attention. But no, it seemed as though Anthony was too far into his project to be brought out of it, now.
At least by just talking to him. They were in Anthony’s workshop, Loki having been given permission to enter it some time ago, and he was sure there were any number of things he could get into which would bring Anthony rather sharply back to reality. Although… that didn’t exactly appeal. The permission to enter the workshop was something Loki still valued, and he wasn’t willing to lose it, at least not over something this small. And getting Anthony’s attention in that way was certain to also raise his ire, which could be fun, he admitted, but not what he was aiming for.
He considered his options for a minute, and then decided on one with a smile. It would definitely get his attention, and had at least a chance of not getting him thrown out.
He walked up behind Anthony, leaning over his shoulder to look at what it was he was working on. At the moment he was sketching out blueprints for a new project. His fingers flew over screens, drawing up diagrams in freeform, the beginnings of his ideas just starting to take shape. It was a little dizzying to watch, lines and schematics appearing in seconds, sometimes only to be swiped away again if they didn’t meet Anthony’s standards for whatever reason.
Loki watched for a moment, before asking him, “And what is this you’re working on now?”
For a second Anthony didn’t reply, and he wondered if he was so deep in concentration that he couldn’t even hear anymore. After a moment, though, he replied. “Not quite sure yet. Just had an idea which might increase energy efficiency for the arc reactors, as well as make them more stable. Then that led into some ideas for some new ships—uh.” He stopped abruptly, even his fingers stilling for half a second before continuing what they were doing.
Loki pretended not to notice the slip, but smiled. “Is that right? How very clever of you.”
“Aren’t I always?” The comment was in character for him, but he still sounded distracted.
Loki’s smile grew slightly. Somehow Anthony still thought he could keep certain things from him, even after allowing him to come into the workshop. It was probably just habit to keep some things under wraps, but he was well aware of Anthony’s explorations into designing ships to go into space. He hadn’t exactly been subtle in asking questions about the ones Loki was familiar with, or in crawling all over the one the Guardians had landed in.
He let it pass. If Anthony wanted to feel as though he were being sneaky about it, there was no harm, and it wasn’t as though Loki were in the business of discouraging his experiments. If anything, he was tempted to ‘just happen’ to share even more of what he knew about ship construction to help him along.
But not just now. He’d just gotten back, and missed Anthony’s conversations, and it wouldn’t do to have him dive into a project now. If the mood had really taken hold of him, then Anthony might hole himself up in his workshop for days, or even weeks. It had happened before, and getting Anthony out of that sort of mania before he was ready was almost impossible. So the best thing to do was to trip it up before it really started.
He was already practically draped over Anthony’s back, but he scooted just a little closer, so he couldn’t help but feel Loki’s warmth soaking through his back. There wasn’t much reaction – until Loki turned his head to speak directly into the man’s ear, quietly. “Anthony, I meant to tell you something when I got back…”
That got more of a reaction. Anthony stiffened at the breath on his neck, and turned his head – apparently without realizing just how close Loki’s face would be to his when he did so. “Um,” he said intelligently, eyes focusing on him for the first time since Loki had come in. That was nice. “Y-yeah? What’s up?”
Loki didn’t say anything else. He just leaned in and stole a kiss. Long enough for there to be no doubt at all of what it was, but not long enough for Anthony to feel the need to throw him across the room. When he pulled back, he wondered if his tactic actually had to the opposite effect of what he’d wanted, as Anthony looked stunned and not at all present.
When he finally blinked, and looked at Loki, he still didn’t seem fully present. “What… was that?”
Loki raised a brow at him, and since he hadn’t been either struck or shoved away, remained draped over Anthony’s back. It was comfortable. “I thought for certain you would have an idea of what a kiss is, Anthony.”
He blinked again, and seemed to rouse, focusing more on him. “I know that, longshanks, but… Really?”
Something in Anthony’s tone made Loki blink in his turn. The way Anthony was looking at him was a little confused, but not angry. A line had appeared between his brows, and he was scanning over Loki’s face carefully, as though he were looking for something. ‘Really’? As in ‘really a kiss,’ or…?
Oh.
He let his smile show, and put a teasing lilt in his tone. “Yes, of course it was a kiss. Really, Anthony, that you should need to ask such a question…”
To that, Anthony actually pouted, though there was a twinkle in his eye. “That’s not what I meant, and you—“
He cut off when Loki laid his hand against his cheek, freezing in place just as though Loki’s touch were ice. “I guess I’ll just have to educate you on the subject, won’t I?”
Anthony’s eyes widened, and Loki felt his pout turn into a smile against his mouth.
It was a good distraction for Anthony, and got Loki the attention he wanted. He’d have to remember it for next time.