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When it had first started happening, Loki didn’t think about it too much.
He knew, after all, that the people of Midgard were more open about their emotions than Asgardians. He knew it, because he wasn’t an idiot—he had seen the change in Thor over recent years, the way he had softened, becoming more compassionate rather than the battle-hardened, emotionally-repressed warrior he had been previously. He knew that the humans were responsible for the change.
And he knew it, because Tony Stark would not leave him alone.
It had started right from the beginning, with Stark choosing to sit directly next to him around a conference table despite there being multiple seats spare, or Stark pressing their thighs together on the couch during Avengers movie nights, or Stark leaning against his shoulder when they stood together in the kitchen. And all right, the first time Loki had stilled, confused by the mortal’s motives in getting so close to a man who had not so long ago been his enemy—
But after that, Loki simply accepted it as being simply how humans were.
He was sure, after all, that he had seen the other humans acting in similar ways. Barton and Romanoff often sat close to each other on the couch, and Stark was often giving physical affection to Banner, clapping him on the shoulder or wrapping an arm around him. Ms Potts, too, sometimes received hugs from Stark, and Peter Parker seemed to twitch with the need to hug anyone in his vicinity.
So, yes.
Loki knew that physical affection and downright clinginess were parts of the Midgardian culture, merely the way that humans behaved with their friends.
He simply grew to tolerate it.
He was thankful, at least, that Stark was the only human who showed such affection to him. It was clear that the others had yet to trust him fully, and if it meant that Loki could keep a little more of his personal space then he certainly wasn’t going to complain.
And during those late nights when Loki couldn’t sleep, when he mulled the situation over in his head, Loki wondered… if the reason Stark was affording Loki so much of his attention was to make up for the fact that the others weren’t.
It certainly seemed like something that Stark would do. But as weeks turned into months, Stark grew more and more affectionate, and the others… continued to keep their distance.
It was only as time continued and nothing changed that Loki began to grow suspicious.
He had become accustomed to the way that Tony would throw himself into his lap at any given opportunity—he had come to enjoy the feel of running his hands through Tony’s hair. He liked when Tony stood beside him and entwined their fingers, and he came to look forward to the movie nights when Tony would often fall asleep against his side.
But the others… never did such a thing. And as Loki began to be more accepted into the group, as he spent more time with all of them, he came to realise that Tony didn’t really do it with them, either.
The first time he noticed was when he walked in on Tony and Romanoff watching a film, the pair of them throwing popcorn at the screen and making lewd comments. They were seated on the same couch, and they were sharing a blanket—but they were using opposite ends of both, no part of their bodies touching. Loki stared, confused as to why they were not sitting closer. Though perhaps one of them was injured? Perhaps it was too warm for cuddling? Perhaps they were enjoying the movie too much to allow themselves to be distracted by the comfort of a friend?
But when Tony had seen Loki standing to the side, when Loki had acquiesced to Tony’s beckoning gesture and had joined them on the couch, Tony had immediately shifted to press himself against Loki’s side and swung his legs into Loki’s lap.
Loki noticed that Romanoff was watching them, her eyes slightly narrowed—but the smile on her lips was real, and she didn’t seem surprised.
Yet… she and Tony had not been cuddling, despite Loki knowing that the pair were close friends.
Following that incident, Loki decided to keep a closer watch on how Tony interacted with the other Avengers. What he saw was… strange.
When Tony worked with Banner in their lab, he did sometimes wrap his arms around Banner’s shoulders, or put a hand on his arm. But... he never held Banner’s hand. He never gave Banner a hug so tight that Banner’s feet almost lifted from the ground—he never buried his head into the curve Banner’s neck with muffled laughter.
When Tony spoke with Rogers, he never leaned in close, he never left a hand lingering at Rogers’ side.
When Tony sparred with Thor, he never reached up to swipe Thor’s hair from his eyes—never stroked Thor’s cheek after blasting him into the ground.
And he never fell asleep while cuddling anyone else.
He only did those things… with Loki.
It was entirely confusing, and it didn’t make any sense. The only reason Loki had tolerated those ridiculous displays of affection was because he had been so sure it was normal for humans to do around their friends—
So why didn’t Tony do it with any of the others?
It made no sense.
Not knowing something was always a major source of frustration for Loki, and in that moment he wanted nothing more than to tear out his hair and bang his head against a wall. It seemed that he had stumbled across a puzzle which had been sitting under his nose the entire time, and now he knew about it not having the solution in his grasp was tantamount to the worst kinds of torture.
He needed to understand, but he knew that he wouldn’t be able to decipher the strange inner workings of the Midgardian mind himself. He was going to need help.
Loki didn't, however, want to ask Tony. If he did that he would be running the risk of being laughed at or – worse – Tony thinking that Loki didn’t like his affection, and stopping it entirely. That was an outcome Loki found himself realising that he would rather avoid.
So, instead—
“Thor,” Loki began, before pausing to clear his throat, the words sticking to each other and becoming difficult to say. “When you are spending time with Tony, does he… is he affectionate?”
A crease appeared between Thor’s brows, his hand coming up to rub at his chin before he looked at Loki in concern. “I am rather surprised that you’re asking such a thing,” he said. “Do you not trust Tony?”
“I—What?” Loki asked, confused. “Of course I do. Other than you, he was the first one to trust me when I joined the Avengers. He’s been nothing but kind to me, and I know that he wouldn’t betray me. I am just—I just want to make things clear.”
“Oh.” And, as if a switch had been flicked, Thor’s entire demeanor suddenly changed. “Loki, my brother, you have absolutely nothing to worry about. I would never do such a thing to you, and nor would any of the Avengers. Tony is as gone for you as the ocean is for the moon, and none of us would ever dream to try and come between the pair of you.”
Loki blinked. “I. I see.”
Except, of course, he absolutely did not.
“It is grand to see you so happy, brother,” Thor said, clapping Loki on the back. “I am so happy for you, and I know mother would be too. Now go, go and be with Tony, and stop worrying.”
“Thank you,” Loki said. “I shall do that.”
But as Thor walked away, Loki felt like he wanted to do nothing more than curse. Thor had only succeeded in making him more confused than he had been before.
It did seem that Loki was right, however. Thor had mentioned trust—so it was clear that this was some kind of Midgardian trust ritual, just as Loki had first thought it was. Then… did Tony only feel the need to do those things with Loki because he was the only one who had formerly been his enemy?
Except… no, that didn’t make any sense either. Because Loki had seen Tony interact with Wanda Maximoff a sparse number of times, and every time Tony had been little more than cold.
Growling under his breath, Loki realised that either he was going to have to go to the source of his puzzle, or struggle to work it out on his own.
He, of course, chose the latter—
At least until the next time the Avengers had a movie night, and Tony again sprawled across Loki’s lap, relaxing entirely and sighing in contentment.
“I can’t take this anymore,” Loki snapped—and Tony turned his head to stare up at him.
“What’s the matter?” Tony asked. “Is something wrong?”
“Yes,” Loki hissed. “This is wrong—why are you doing this? Why me, and not anyone else?”
“Uh.” Tony sat, slowly, so that he could look at Loki properly. “Loki… are you asking me why I like you?”
“No. I am asking why you treat me differently than anyone else. Why you choose to sit close to me on the couch and not any of your other friends.”
“I think I’m confused,” Tony said, a frown marring his expression.
“And I think it’s time for us to go,” Barton interjected.
“Yeah, come on guys,” Romanoff agreed, getting up from her seat. “Let’s let these guys sort this out in private.”
“But—”
“Now, Thor.”
Loki watched, even more confused, as the other Avengers all filed out of the room, Thor shooting a concerned look over his shoulder as they did so. But his attention was quickly drawn back to the matter at hand when Tony began to speak once more.
“Loki, I think you’ve lost me,” Tony said. “Start from the very beginning, pretend I understand none of this. What’s wrong?”
Loki drew in a sharp breath, trying to keep a hold of himself. “You’ve been acting strangely around me,” he said. “And just around me. I thought at first that it must just be a Midgardian custom, and Thor confirmed that it had something to do with trust. But I have been an Avenger for some time now. Why is it that you feel the need to do this with me but not the others—and why do none of the others feel the need to do it at all? I do not understand—”
“Loki,” Tony cut in, the word hard and yet laced with sudden understanding. “You’re asking why I spend time with you?”
“I’m asking why you hug me,” Loki corrected. “Why you hold my hand, why you fall asleep in my arms. Why you only do this with me, and not with anyone else.”
“Oh, fuck,” Tony groaned. “You…”
“What?” Loki asked, his concern growing.
“I thought—well, It seems you weren’t the only one confused—
“You still aren’t,” Loki snapped. “Tony, will you just tell me what is going on?”
“Will I…” Tony groaned, and rubbed a hand over his face. When he met Loki’s gaze once again, there was something odd hiding in his eyes—something that looked painfully like hurt. But Tony’s hand was gentle as he lifted it to cup Loki’s cheek, and despite everything Loki found himself leaning into the touch. It was nice, comforting, familiar.
“Loki,” Tony said, holding Loki’s gaze with an expression more serious than Loki had ever seen him wear. “I am about to do something, and before I do I want to promise that I only want to do it with you.”
Loki frowned, and opened his mouth to reply. He was still completely and utterly bemused, Tony’s actions having done absolutely nothing to unscramble the mess of confusion that was currently stumbling around in his mind—
But then soft lips pressed against his own, and the broken, twisted strands of his thoughts all fell into place.
Tony’s kiss was firm, but gentle—a press of determination against Loki’s mouth, a need to pass along a message which had been lost in translation.
And when the kiss broke, Loki felt like he had stepped through the Bifrost and landed in an entirely different world.
“Oh,” he breathed.
“Yeah, oh,” Tony said. “Do you get it now? Do you see why I don’t treat you the same as all the others?”
“You have been courting me?” Loki asked, amazed. “But—”
“Courting, dating, whatever you want to call it,” Tony said. His cheeks flushed pink as he raised a hand to rub at the back of his neck. “Honestly, I thought we’d been dating for weeks. I just. I know my reputation, and I know Asgardians don’t quite move at the same pace as us humans, and I thought you wanted to take it slow.”
“I—” Loki stopped, the words sticking in his throat as he realised just how slow he really had been. “I thought—”
“That I do this kind of thing with everyone?” Tony asked, leaning in again and stopping just shy of brushing their lips together once more. “I know I get called a playboy, but I’m not that bad.”
Loki snorted, unable to help it. “You know,” he said, “If you had simply told me about this—”
“Hey, I’m not the one who thought hand holding and playing with your hair and cuddling on the couch was platonic!”
“It could have been, how was I to know?”
“Loki,” Tony said, speaking slowly now. “For the smartest guy I know, you can be pretty dense sometimes.”
Loki huffed. “Do not tell any of the others about this.”
Tony laughed before leaning in to give Loki another kiss—and Loki smiled as he returned it.