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Tony and Loki were hard at work on their respective sides of Tony's lab. Which somehow, over the course of time, had become their lab, and Loki's “side” varied anywhere from a small cabinet/desk in the corner to nearly the entire room depending on the nature of the spell he was working on. At first Tony balked repeatedly, not only from the invasion of his space and Loki touching his stuff, but was quickly convinced that keeping a close eye on the Trickster was cheaper over the long run than having to completely rebuild Bruce's lab every time he Hulked out due to one of Loki's projects unexpectedly going supernova.
Also, he was doing his best to subtly try and analyze the nature of magic. Loki kept causing Tony's magic sensors to suffer mysterious malfunctions, up to the point of having them turn into butterflies that were enormously attracted to the inventor's hair. It became a game between the two, with Loki always winning, though Tony didn't overtly mind as long as he could watch the mage break the laws of physics on a regular basis.
On this particular day Loki's side of the lab consisted of the northern corner that had been roped off (literally so, using some kind of multicolored, braided animal hide rope possessing some sort of mystic power) wherein Loki was using all his concentration to measure out precise amounts of an insane number of ingredients for some kind of potion. What it was or its exact purpose he refused to let Tony know, simply brushing the man off with a muttered, “Later, Stark.”
Not only was Loki completely engrossed in his work, but he had also recruited DUM-E to assist him. Tony hadn't objected, as he didn't have anything currently lined up to use to keep the little bot busy, but he'd been concerned that the level of precision Loki needed would be too much for the well-meaning but often clumsy machine.
His concerns were quickly dashed as DUM-E proved himself to not only be exactly what the mage needed, but had turned out to quite enjoy chasing down some of the more recalcitrant “ingredients.” The inventor was sure he'd never heard the robot chirping as happily as he did after catching an escaped black and red snake that had headed for the man at an alarming rate of speed. He was likewise sure he'd never hear the end of it from Loki about how he'd leapt onto one of the worktables screaming. Loki's assurances that it wasn't “terribly poisonous” did nothing to calm his nerves. DUM-E had simply plucked the viciously hissing creature off the floor from where it was busy menacing Tony, being careful not to damage the reptile, and rolled over to Loki who nodded approvingly before indicating that the bot should drop the creature into what could only be described as a cauldron sitting on a magical fire. The vibrant orange steam that arose after the soft splash of the snake being dropped in also did nothing to reassure Tony.
While his resident master of all things mystical was teamed up with his very first robotic creations, Tony busied himself finishing various in-progress projects around the lab. Of course, what that meant in reality was that every few minutes he'd stop tinkering with whatever that last item he picked up was and watch as the pair in the far corner worked away.
Tony got bored quickly. He wanted in on whatever it was that Loki was working on and, not being allowed to directly assist, he did the next best thing: started being an annoying little jerk. Hey, if it was really so terrible to have random screws, pieces of plastic, empty styrofoam coffee cups, and whatever else Tony could reach thrown across some invisible magical circle, Loki would be working in his quarters instead.
DUM-E, as it turns out, was incredibly adept at keeping all unwanted objects from crossing into Loki's space. Including ones that were airborne; Tony had no idea when the bot had developed a Wimbledon-level backhand but his angry beeping made Tony switch to seeing just how close he could place an object without either of the two otherwise engaged entities giving him a dirty look.
Time passed slowly as the mage and robot worked while the engineer did his best to try and gain their attention. Whatever the spell or potion or magical humbug was, it was certainly taking its sweet time in being completed. After a while Tony had JARVIS replay the footage and count the number of ingredients that had been added to the cauldron, as well as their proportions. Apparently it could also double as a TARDIS considering that the volume of components Loki had added to it was easily twice what it could hold given the dimensions it appeared to have according to JARVIS' scans.
For Tony, this was an even better puzzle that trying to figure out what they were making. After all, even JARVIS could only identify a fraction of the things that had been dumped in the pot and some of them were only slightly possible matches.
It was, of course, in Tony's best scientific interests that he found it necessary to sidle closer, as personal observation was an integral part of documentation. With a StarkPad in hand, he snuck over the rope barrier and carefully tip-toed closer to the working mage.
DUM-E turned to focus on him and chirped in what sounded like exasperation. Tony held up his free hand placatingly and waved the other one holding the StarkPad as though it explained everything. The little bot seemed to stare at the man, as if daring him to move any closer, before turning back to observe the working mage.
Loki had no reaction, as he continued stirring the contents of the cauldron, occasionally pausing to add another item or mutter something just barely audible and more definitely not English under his breath.
For his part, Tony really did try not to get in their way. But when Loki said something about adding the final component, nothing in the world could have stopped him from moving closer. And it actually wasn't his fault that DUM-E, in trying to prevent him from using the StarkPad to closely scan the contents of the bottle Loki was ever so carefully tipping into the cauldron, accidentally grazed Loki's arm, causing him to drop the entire bottle into the pot.
There was just enough time to register an enrage bellow of “STARK!” before all three found themselves behind a reinforced cinderblock blast shield that Tony had finally had the sense to have installed following a previous mishap.
However, it took considerably longer for the two living beings to regain their hearing due to the overwhelming volume of sound generated by the spell imploding on itself. Fortunately the ventilation fans had kicked in immediately so all of the smoke had cleared by the time Loki finally stood up from where he had been shielding Tony with his own body.
Loki ignored the repeated inquiries from JARVIS as to whether any of them had sustained any injuries and cautiously peered over the top of the blast wall.
In the corner the cauldron had been reduced to a still slightly smoking puddle of metal slag, with strange colors coruscating through the cooling metal as the remnants of the magic slowly dissipated, and that itself was the center of a scorch mark that extended several feet outwards. Thankfully all walls and surrounding structures appeared to be intact.
Tony didn't actually have time to actually come to his senses before he found himself grabbed by the front of his tee-shirt and slammed up against the wall behind him, now eye-to-eye with an enraged god of mischief.
“All day, Stark! I've been working on this spell for an entire day and you couldn't keep your wretched curiosity under control for another half a minute?!” He shook the man hard, as if attempting to rattle some sense into him.
“Will there be no time when you will listen to my instruction and keep your thrice-cursed hands out of working beyond your ken? By the Norns, how did I ever become involved with a so-called mortal genius who has less sense of self-preservation than a newborn babe?”
The angry god continued on in this vein, unmindful of the slightly singed robot gently tugging on his sleeve. It was only when JARVIS dropped the room into darkness for a few moments that Loki even became aware of anything other than his anger, such as the fact that he still held the struggling engineer in the air and that said engineer was growing more frantic by the second. Loki slowly lowered the man to his feet, bracing him more gently when he realized the man was having difficulty standing.
A quick flicker of magic had his damaged eardrums and equilibrium restored, as well as clearing up the minor smoke damage to his lungs and some bruising due to having Loki's full weight fall upon him.
“Master Loki, Sir has been attempting to speak to you. Perhaps it would be advisable to allow him to explain what happened?” inquired the softly cultured voice of the A.I. JARVIS had long since learned that the best way to deal with an extremely angry Loki was to be calm and reasonable, unlike his creator's choice of escalating everything into a shouting match.
“I said,” Tony coughed, more for effect than out of any necessity as he had felt Loki's healing magic work through his body, “that I didn't do it.”
“Oh, you didn't, did you? You, the meddlesome fool unable to keep his nose out of anything?”
“That's not fair, I have some times...”
“You, who grabs enchanted objects after being specifically told not to touch them?”
“That was one time...”
“You, who drinks unmarked bottles because you mistake them for liquor?”
“Hey, it looked just like my favorite decanter!”
“You, he one acutely aware that you are dealing with powers you will NEVER be able to fathom...”
“Look, your hocus pocus is just science we haven't figured out yet...”
“You, who absolutely cannot keep your hands to yourself despite being told not to touch things time after time after time!”
“Well, okay, guilty as charged, but it wasn't me this time! I swear! I FUCKING SWEAR IT, LOKI!”
The good took a step back and, as he did, also took a long, slow breath. Slowly he looked over the smaller man in front of him.
“Stark,” he began in a biting tone of voice, “are you really going to shift the blame for this mess onto this poor, helpless little machine you created?” The stare Loki was giving Tony was absolutely chilling.
This time, when DUM-E tugged on Loki's sleeve, Loki noticed and turned to face the bot. He looked at the construct in confusion, listening to it's fury of chirps and beeps. When it had finally wound down, ending on an almost mournful note, Loki spoke up.
“JARVIS, is this true?”
“I'm afraid so, Master Loki. When DUM-E attempted to block Sir from getting in your way while scanning the last item you were adding, he accidentally miscalculated his reach and bumped into your arm, causing you to drop the bottle. For once, the accident was not directly Sir's fault.”
“Great, thanks for the defense, Jay,” groused the engineer. “Yeah, so you see, Lokes, I didn't-”
Loki had already put Tony out of his mind as he turned to the robot, gliding a hand over his metal arm and sending a quick cleaning spell across the machine.
“Oh, little one,” he all but cooed. “You were trying so hard to be a good assistant to me. And you were doing so very well, too, even trying to keep your hapless creator from getting in the way again.”
“Hey the 'hapless creator' IS STANDING RIGHT HERE!” yelled Tony.
The mage continued to ignore the inventor as he guided the robot back over to the corner where the subdued “plink plink” sounds of cooling metal could still be heard.
DUM-E chirped sadly, waving his arm at the mess.
Loki patted the appendage reassuringly. “It is fine, the only one that would have benefited from the completed potion was the imbecile over there,” he waved vaguely back towards Tony, who gave an indignant “Hey!” in response. “There will be another time to try again. In the meanwhile, will you help me in cleaning this up?”
At that the little robot seemed to brighten considerably, beeping happily and spinning in a circle before looking at Loki eagerly. For his part, Loki looked on with a gently doting smile as the machine rushed to follow his instructions.
From the far side of the room Tony's grumbling about having been “replaced” was ignored by all.
Well past midnight finally saw the engineer slinking into the bedroom he shared with the god. He paused in the doorway, quietly observing the latter as he was deeply involved in reading some ancient-looking book that had a disconcertingly moving image emblazoned on the cover.
Eventually he broke the silence. “Please tell me you're not researching something you can use to temporarily incapacitate me while playing with your mojo?” he joked lamely.
“I am already well-versed in a plethora of such spells, many of which would be permanent,” the god deadpanned, eyes never leaving the page.
Tony sighed heavily before stepping closer and perching on the edge of the bed.
“So how badly did I screw things up this time?”
Loki closed the book and set it on the bedside table, then folded his hands in his lap.
“It took in excess of a Midgardian year just to gather all the components, and several months beyond that to completely prepare some of the more complex components. After that I had to wait for the correct hour, day, week, and so forth to arrive as time moves differently between the realms. I also had to prepare myself physically and mentally in order to work, and I had to be sure that the one for whom the resulting potion was intended would be ready and willing to accept it.”
The engineer's face had fallen further and further into despondency as the mage talked, until those last few words had left his mouth.
“Uh, yeah, you kind of mentioned something about how I'd be the only one that 'benefited' from it, but you didn't say what that meant.” He locked eyes with the god.
Loki kept the glance for a few seconds but eventually tuned away, murmuring something under his breath. Tony scooted up on the bed and moved closer to the god, softly grasping his chin and turning his face towards himself.
“Loki,” he whispered, brushing his lips over the cooler ones of the Trickster, “what were you up to today? What were you trying to make?”
Huffing slightly, Loki pulled Tony's hand away from his chin and twined their fingers together. He regarded their hands reflectively, taking in the dichotomy between the shorter, thicker, calloused working hand of the engineer and his own long-fingered, pale, scholar's hand.
Tony waited with unusual (for him, at least) patience while the taller man gathered his thoughts.
“I had wanted to fulfill a wish of yours that I had thus far been unable to. It had taken much time and planning and I thought that for once things would work in both our favor, but obviously it didn't happen.” He noticed Tony about to speak and quickly cut him off.
“No, I won't tell you which one. You yourself may not even think of it as having been a wish, but to me it was. Either way, it matters not. Come the morning I will simply have to begin the long process of gathering all the necessary items once more and starting over. There is still time.” He raised their joined hands and pressed a chaste kiss to his love's scarred knuckles.
Beside him, Tony was at a loss. Pressing Loki for more information would only result in having to once again deal with an extremely irate god and Tony tried to avoid doing that twice in one day. He decided to actually force his curious side to be silent, and instead of wracking his brain for what he could have said that Loki would have interpreted as a “wish,” settled for stroking a thumb across the smooth back of Loki's hand.
After the passing of a few calm minutes, Tony queried, “We good?”
Time stretched out heavily between them. Just as Tony was about to pull away and resign himself to a night on the couch in the lab, Loki once again raised their linked hands to his lips and placed a kiss, this time much warmer, on Tony's knuckles.
“We're good,” he whispered, in a dark and heavy tone.
Brown eyes shot up to meet rapidly dilating green.
“Yeah, we're good.”
Then Tony yanked hard, pulling a very willing god to lay on top of him.