Chapter Text
It was an easy trick.
Loki made a habit of watching the Avengers. Why not? They were amusing. They were his enemies. They were his friends, as Loki defined such things, so there was really no reason not to watch them whenever he felt like it. When one could shapeshift and turn invisible at will, things did not tend to stop you for long.
Amora was his oldest friend and she regularly tried to harm or kill him, usually due to some disagreement over her claim to Thor, but not always. They got along very well during the time between those fights. (So did he and Thor, really, but he would die before he let on to any of the Midgardians.) By his reasoning, The Avengers were very nearly good friends of his, too. Well, some of them.
He enjoyed morning runs with the Captain, the rare chat with Banner in any of the small shops he occasionally ventured out into, not that they knew it was him they spoke to, if they knew he was there at all. Once a week he did something with Thor, whether it was a clandestine meeting, pretending to be a stranger, or one of their fights. Thor was only recently catching on that Loki saw him more often than he knew and the occasional flash of suspicion when strangers spoke to him was priceless.
He tended to avoid the assassins. They were sharp. Too sharp, usually, and too paranoid. It was possible to fool them, but whenever they caught on, they always assumed he had some nefarious plan and the whole event had to turn into a battle. Far too cumbersome, unless that was what he wanted from the beginning.
Some days he all but lived at Stark Tower. That was how he had gotten to meet Pepper Potts, how he had gotten over his irrational dislike of Jane Foster, and started up an unexpected friendship with Darcy Lewis. The women he could never meet on the battlefield, at least not the usual fields of battle, and they could be unexpectedly good company. Especially if they thought he was the good Captain.
Darcy was good to imitate at any given time, being that she was regarded as the stranger of the three woman and Loki could really have some fun wearing her skin without anyone thinking he was an impostor.
The Tower was like a third home to him, after Asgard and his Midgardian hideout, and he used it accordingly. He kept up with the schedule of who was to come and go and when, he refrained from destroying it on accident, and when he needed it, he thought of the place as safe.
That was why when he next fought with Amora over whether or not he would help her to kill Jane Foster (he wouldn't) and she cast a hex on him that disabled most of his magic, he went to the Tower. His shapeshifting was in tact, but not much else and he needed to be able to teleport to get to his Midgardian hideaway. The Potts woman was usually out at this time and Loki needed a rest before figuring out who would be gone the days he intended to linger.
He fell heavily on the couch, feeling the stiffness of his fight all the way to his bones. He sighed wearily, closing his eyes a moment. He was startled when he found his feet being lifted daintily off the floor and into someones lap, but he resisted jumping up and kept his eyes from snapping open as he wanted. He had to act as if he thought he was safe here or else he no longer would be. He supposed he must be more tired than he thought not to have heard anyone coming.
"You're home early," Stark said, grinning at him. He began casually rubbing his feet and Loki couldn't help the eyebrow he raised in question. "You look like you need it. Long day?"
"You have no idea," Loki told him, letting himself sink further into the couch and soaking up the attention. He had pretended to be the ladies of this Tower often enough that he was certain he could fool any of them by now.
Stark smiled at him warmly, the expression giving Loki unexpected pause. This look was not given freely around the Tower. Stark's smiles were never so soft, never so sincere. This look was meant for Pepper Potts alone. Loki felt a slight stirring of unease, but decided to lay it aside for now. He was too tired to be concerned about the trivialities of morality and conscience.
Loki slipped into Darcy's form before the Potts woman returned and spent the rest of the night resting in the woman's room.
The morning was slightly awkward. He hadn't been able to rest very well, Amora's spell itching at his skin throughout the night, leaving him unfocused when he went to the common floor come morning. It was early enough that he wouldn't be running into Stark, late enough that the captain and Miss Potts would have already come and gone. He wasn't expecting to run into anyone, which was why he was thrown completely off guard when he entered the kitchen and came face to face the woman he was pretending to be.
Darcy stared wide eyed at him and Loki stood frozen in place for a moment. "Well, this is awkward," He said and she seemed even more surprised to hear herself talk. Maybe she was expecting to hear his own voice coming from her body. He shrugged off his surprise and slight shame at letting himself be caught off guard, moving to fix himself a cup of tea. He couldn't leave quickly without his magic, so he might as well have a cup of tea before he got thrown out.
"It's kinda weird to be staring at myself right now," She said after a while.
He obliged her by turning into the Potts woman again. "Better?" He asked.
"Yes," She answered, still seeming a bit stunned.
"Miss Lewis, shall I alert the others?" Jarvis' voice asked.
"No," Darcy answered slowly. She eyed him warily for a moment before asking, "You aren't here to blow us up or anything, are you?"
He snorted. "Hardly. I'm here for the tea." He held up is newly prepared cup as he took a sip.
"Tea?" She repeated skeptically.
"Better than that horrid sludge the rest of you drink in the mornings."
"Don't dis coffee!"
Loki shook his head and gave her pitying look, as if the poor mortal didn't understand the tragedy of her situation, and she rolled her eyes at him. "Why are you here?" He inquired curiously. "I thought you were not to return until the night?"
"Thor came and got Jane early and I just tagged along."
Loki hummed his acknowledgement as he took another sip of tea. It was a testament to his luck that Stark trudged into the kitchen next, half asleep and heading straight for the coffee machine. He moved to Loki's side, planting a soft kiss on his lips, and Loki stared at the mortal wide eyed a moment, eyes darting to Darcy as she tried desperately not to laugh.
"I thought you left for work?" Stark mumbled.
Definitely his luck that Stark was not a morning person. Loki managed to smile as Miss Potts usual would, as he answered. "You're still asleep Tony," He said in her indulgent voice. "I should be on my, though."
"Oh, I'll walk you out!" Darcy called, following him as he left.
Once they were both in the elevator, Darcy began to laugh hysterically as Loki just sighed. "The look on your face!" She exclaimed.
"Yes, so glad that I could amuse you," Loki drawled, the affectation coming out strange in Pepper's voice.
"Why were you here, anyway?" Darcy questioned. "And don't you dare say it was for tea."
"I was hiding out," Loki answered, but didn't add any more details than that.
"You hide out here?" She asked incredulously. "The place where all of your enemies live?"
"Not all of them," Loki corrected. "Only the heroes. Which makes this place ideal, really. I am not afraid of The Avengers."
"As if that wasn't obvious," She said sarcastically. She stared at him as if waiting for more.
Loki gave in with a small shake of his head. "I am... unable to use my own hideout at the moment. This is the next best thing."
Darcy stared at him. He was saved from having to try and decipher her look when the elevator doors opened on the first floor. He promptly left. He didn't didn't know what he would do without his magic, but Darcy seemed to answer that for him. The girl looped her arm through his and asked, "Can you do Jane?"
In response he simply shifted to the form of Thor's woman, giving her a quizzical look.
"I've been meaning to try and talk her into getting a new wardrobe. Jane has, literally, the worst fashion sense and I have a secret plan to replace all her clothes. As long as you're here, you can come shopping with me. We'll charge it all to Stark's account. We can do that, you know."
Loki did know. He'd stolen Thor's card several times when he wanted to buy something and didn't feel like going through the trouble of conjuring it himself or having to appropriate the funds. Sometimes just if he wanted to have a laugh at Stark having to pay for whatever ludicrous thing he ordered. One notable instant, he'd ordered a hundred pizzas, causing the man to get upset at the waste of money since he knew Loki had to responsible, only to get scolded by the Captain when they found out the order he cancelled was going to a homeless shelter. He got all the fun of a good prank and all the credit of a good deed when he'd shown up later to subtly gloat to Stark at having gotten him in trouble. Stark had glared, calling him childish and other such things, then preceding to pout at being in trouble. Loki had only grinned.
Loki didn't tell her the story, though. Instead, he looked at Darcy and asked, "You want to take a villain shopping?"
"You're only a villain by technicality," She replied. "You're the God of Mischief, there's nothing to be done about that, and you clearly know enough about our schedule to sneak into the Tower without us knowing and not blow us up when could have so..." She shrugged. "And you said yourself that you can't go home yet. So, shopping?"
As incomprehensible as the woman usually was, it seemed she possessed at least a sliver of cleverness. That was more than he could say for most mortals. And he was already fond of her, in a way. He grinned at her before changing his expression to one of exasperation and affecting Jane's demeanor as he groaned, "Is this really necessary, Darcy?"
Darcy grinned back, clearly liking the game. "Oh yes! Absolutely."
That was how Loki ended up spending a day pretending to be Jane shopping with Darcy, retreating back to his home once Amora's spell finally wore off.
Loki and Darcy go along rather well. In the weeks that followed, the two had a flurry of repeat ventures, Loki wearing Jane's appearance, but not always her attitude. Loki chose to keep their interaction outside of the Tower as much as possible. The last thing he wanted was for Thor to mistake him for his woman and kiss him the way Stark had. Likely worse, as Thor was known to be a very exuberant and affectionate thing. The thought made Loki shudder. It made Darcy laugh, when he told her why he'd rather not be Jane at the Tower.
Loki had very few hang ups about pretending to be Darcy when she wasn't around, which was made easier by the fact that she sometimes stuck around even after Jane and Thor left. It took very little work on his part to set up his next trick. Stark was easy to work up and Darcy was a known accomplice to the man, talking him into going out was the work of minutes. Loki avidly took in the the way each Avenger behaved, most especially Stark. He thought of it as research.
The next Avengers mission where Stark was gone and Darcy was still in the Tower, Loki took it upon himself to throw a party.
Loki knew, with absolute certainty, that Stark would know it was him that threw the party. But the trick wasn't in the subtlety of the thing, it was in the thing itself. That and his little mortal seemed to enjoy such things and she had begun to be very amusing to him.
Loki may have forgotten to take into account Miss Potts, who was both stunned and outraged to come home to a raging party and whose anger refused to be quelled by any of 'Stark's' charm. Well, it wasn't Loki's problem if Stark ended up fighting with his woman. So when the woman stomped off to hers and Stark's bedroom in something of a huff, he wasn't overly concerned.
"That was a dick move, bro," Darcy told him after they had both watched the other woman storm off.
"What? I tried to placate her," He shrugged.
"You just got yourself in trouble for the next three weeks, minimum." Darcy had taken to saying 'yourself' when referring to whoever he was pretending to be, least Jarvis begin to catch on.
Loki rolled his eyes. "You don't think it will be cleared up tomorrow?" He asked significantly.
"It would be just like you to do something like this and pretend it was someone else. Have you seen yourself drunk?" She asked him.
Loki had. And Stark would try to do precisely that.
He rather thought that made the whole thing funnier.
"That, as they say, is that," Loki shrugged. He turned to leave, not wanting to waste more thoughts on the matter, but Darcy had other ideas.
"Oh, no you don't!" She told him, grabbing his arm. He could resist her pull, he was stronger than her, after all, but he didn't. He simply sighed and let himself be turned around.
"What now?"
"Fix it!"
"It does not concern me."
Darcy gave him a look. "Uh, yes it does! It completely involves you. You and yourself."
Loki gave her a look that was basically a pout and he knew it. "Darcy," He whined.
"Nu-uh. I refuse to be an accessory to a break up."
Loki heaved a great sigh and with a put upon expression, set about to kicking out all of the guest. "Jarvis, do something about this mess," He ordered as Stark would as he went to speak with Miss Potts.
"You may want to brace yourself, sir," Jarvis replied.
"Is she that mad?" He asked. "What do you suppose I should do?"
"Taking responsibility for your faults would be a good start," Jarvis replied after a pause.
That didn't sound very Stark like, but Loki as willing to trust the opinion of an entity whose job was literally to watch everyone. Loki might just be able to make Stark's relationship better than it was before. Loki imagined Stark did not often listen to anyone's opinion but his own. Even if it was the opinion of something he expressly created.
He decided to try the polite and repentant approach, knocking on the door and requesting entrance rather than just barging in. There was a wait before she let him enter and he hoped that this would not be as difficult as he thought it might be.
"Pepper," He began, but the woman immediately cut him off.
"You didn't think you should ask me before inviting a bunch of strangers into our home?" She asked him, glaring him down. "It isn't like before, Tony. I'm not your assistant anymore, I'm not someone you can just boss around or overlook! This is my home, too, and you can't just--"
"You're right!" Loki interrupted her before she could work herself up further. There was some history of discord here that he decided to file away for later, but at the moment, he wasn't willing to take responsibility for the man's entire history of romantic failings. If Loki caused them to break up, he would be doing the woman a favor, he was almost sure of it. As it was, he supposed he'd be doing Stark a favor instead. "I should have considered your feelings. It was... inconsiderate of me. Idiotic, even. I'm sorry I'm such a jerk, Pep, I just needed to blow off some steam." He took a few tentative steps toward her, placing a hand on her arm. Not too intimate, but still familiar. Proprietary.
She was looking at him with some wonder. Stark likely didn't admit to being wrong often. Loki had no problem calling the man out for all his horrible qualities. Her look shifted into one of suspicion. "How much have you been drinking?"
Loki couldn't hide a bark of laughter. Stark was a piece of work, if his woman's reception to him was any indication. Not that Loki hadn't already thought so. "You got me," He grinned. "I'm just drunk enough to know what a horrible boyfriend I am."
She glared at him a little longer, scoldingly, but then just sighed. She shook her head, clearly deciding to let it go until a later time. "Let's just get you into you bed."
Loki... hadn't thought the end of this argument through. At least, he didn't anticipate it ending like this. He tried to back pedal quickly. "Actually I was going to go to the lab and--" The glare she gave him shut him up quickly.
Loki let himself be ordered into sleep wear and then into bed, where the woman watched him disapprovingly before he pretended sleep. She pressed herself against his back and he fought the urge to tense up. He wasn't afraid of a mortal woman. He just wasn't in the habit of sharing space with others. Not anymore. Not like this. He waited until she fell into her own sleep before slipping out of the room and out of the Tower.
The incident lingered in his mind for a while after, but he pretended to forget.
"Loki, cease your mischief!" Thor called out, a crash of thunder punctuating his words.
Loki ignored him.
Loki's mind was rather unsettled and he'd fallen back on old habits to calm himself. That was why he'd brought all the tree in Central Park to life and the Avengers were having a time trying to stop them from... well, Loki didn't know what they were trying to do. He'd brought hem to life, but he wasn't controlling them. Watching them was as fascinating as watching the Avengers trying to fight him. As far as he could tell, they seemed to be taking some issue with the wildlife, but he wasn't sure.
An arrow landed close to his head, but as he was perched in one of the moving trees, half hidden among the branches, it couldn't hit home. Excluding the Avengers, the trees seemed uninterested in attacking people. Nor did they take any issue with Loki being seated among their branches.
"Look here, tree huger," Iron Man's voice came from somewhere to his left. Loki turned to face the man as he hovered nearby. "I love nature as much as the next guy--"
"No you do not," Loki replied. "You find it useless and boring."
Stark had to pause at that, not prepared for Loki to call him correctly on something as innocuous as whatever one liner he had prepared. He only let himself be thrown for a minute, though. "Okay, you're right. I don't. That's no reason to fuck the place up, though."
"I've done no such thing," Loki replied. "All I've done is grant them autonomy and motion."
"So you have nothing to do with the plant vs. squirrel battle going on here?" He asked in incredulity.
"No," Loki answered. He paused a moment, then continued with, "So you think they have taken exception to wild life, too?"
Loki didn't get to hear the answer as lightning touched down on Loki, painfully causing him to lose balance among the branches. Hitting the ground was not so painful when electric shocks were still traveling through him. His brother really was a careless oaf that didn't know his own strength. Or a complete ass that did all such things on purpose. Loki was undecided on the matter some days.
"Put an end to your prank, Loki!" Thor demanded.
Loki continued to lay sprawled out on the ground where he'd fallen. "It seems I am unable to. I've been defeated, there is nothing more that I can do."
"Loki," Thor growled, but the tree that Loki was just expelled from flung Thor away with it's branches. They seemed to take exception to being attacked.
Loki watched as Thor got his rear handed to him by a plant, his grin wide and unrestrained.
"You really get off on this stuff, don't you?" Iron Man asked, landing beside him.
Loki propped himself up further. "Of course. It is cathartic, relaxing."
Stark flipped his face plate up, snorting. "You find this relaxing?"
"Yes," Loki answered. "Do you not enjoy games with your Avengers?"
"Yeah, but that's hardly the same thing."
"It is to me," Loki replied, letting himself fall back onto the grass. "It's like having a picnic or playing one your Midgardian sports."
"This is nothing like a picnic!" Stark complained.
"Yes, I forgot to pack a basket. What am I to do?" Loki replied sarcastically. Then he waved his hand and a blanket appeared beneath himself and Iron Man, a basket to the man's side.
"Are you serious right now?"
Loki reached into the basket and began feeding himself grapes, turning his head to watch the other Avengers. The Captain had gotten himself into the middle of an unfortunate situation involving the squirrels, the archer seemed to have gotten himself thrown into the pond. Thor was yelling at ducks, Loki couldn't imagine why, and the Widow was trying to wrangle a tree, simultaneously more and less successful than Loki though she should be. Banner was absent, but they only seemed to call him in for the more destructive battles.
"The spell will wear off in time, but I am curious to know what they think they will accomplish." Loki meant the trees, but he wasn't certain Stark would correctly interpret it.
There was quiet between them a few minutes before Stark asked, "This isn't poison, is it?"
Loki arched an eyebrow. "Why should it be?"
That answer was apparently good enough for Stark, as the man reached down to search through the basket, pulling off one gauntlet. He didn't take off his suit, but he did seem to enjoy the show of watching the other Avengers as he ate a sandwich from the basket. It was a good twenty minutes before the spell began to wear off, the trees returning to their original positions before returning to being immobile. Loki didn't make them do that, either. He wondered if it was habit or instinct to return to the same place. It was only then that the Avengers took note of them. Stark was leaning against the newly settled tree that took root behind them.
"What the hell, Stark!" The Widow yelled. Loki knew that she'd taken to calling him by his first name, so he assumed the formality was to be a punishment of some sort. It seemed sorely ineffective.
"What? Fighting them wasn't getting us anywhere." The man replied.
Loki reached into the basket and pulled out a meat skewer, still warm, and tossed it to Thor. That brightened his brother's mood immediately and he had no further problem with sitting down and raiding the basket. "Do you have any of those Midgardian pastries, brother?"
"Midgard has many pastries," Loki replied with an eye roll, unwilling to admit that, yes, he did have the specific pastry that his brother seemed so fond of. The Avengers didn't need to know that.
"The hell?" Barton objected. "You're eating with the enemy!"
"So is Thor," Stark pointed out.
Said God of Thunder was polishing off more meat skewers as he searched the basket for pastries.
"That's different. Thor is hopeless," Barton replied.
"It didn't look like you even tried to fight him," The Widow continued to argue.
"Oh, Thor defeated me," Loki spoke up. "I announced it. Didn't you notice?"
The woman only glared at him, raising her weapon. Thor intervened. "It is dishonorable to attack a warrior outside of battle. Loki has clearly surrendered."
"Oh, yes," Loki added dryly. "Clearly."
"He's playing you!" Barton yelled.
"That's obvious," Stark said with an eye roll. "This was all a game to him, anyway. No harm done."
The Widow looked like she might try and shoot Stark next. The Captain was the next to speak. "Why are you still here?"
Loki blinked in surprise, tilting his head. "Pardon?"
The man looked a little frustrated as he tried to express his point. Or maybe he was just still flustered from what happened with the squirrels. "I mean, you usual leave after fights."
"Oh... No I don't," Loki answered.
"You do," He insisted.
"You do not see me, but I do not always leave," Loki told them. He took the basket from Thor to find his own pastry, then took pity on his brother and handed him his own treat.
"Loki would never leave a battle before his enemies," Thor spoke up. "He is too curious for his own good and relishes listening in on what his enemies say about him after a battle."
"Hasn't anyone ever told you that eavesdroppers never like what they hear," Stark told him, biting into an apple.
"Oh?" Loki raised an eyebrow. "I think I've enjoyed hearing the things you've said about me numerous times after battle. You are wrong about me and Amora, by the by. She's always had eyes for Thor. I would never touch her."
Stark didn't have the grace to look embarrassed about being caught out. "Damn. Just lost fifty to Bruce."
The Widow seemed to be the only one that was not to be deterred. Though Barton was not willing to have civil interaction with him, he was easily distracted by the others. Mostly Stark. "We're not having a picnic with the enemy. I'm calling Shield."
"You may do so, but I am not going with them," Loki shrugged. He looked to the Captain, before tossing him a bottle of water. "Feel free to help yourself. You probably need it most of all, Captain. What did you do to make them attack you that way?"
The flush on his face told Loki that he knew exactly what he was talking about. The curious looks from Thor and Barton told him they didn't know.
"Loki, you did not have to go through such trouble," Thor told him with a shake of his head.
Loki rolled his eyes. "This isn't about you," He told him. "I had something on my mind and needed to clear my head."
"By causing mass panic?" Barton interjected.
"By relaxing," Loki corrected. "One is suppose to meditate or spend time with friends, stop thinking about the problem. I chose to do all of the above. Silly stunts like this require more build up than focus, so the meditation came first, obviously."
"Did you just call us your friends," Stark asked in shock.
Loki shrugged. "What of it?"
"We are not your friends," Barton objected.
Loki snorted. "Well, yes, not the two of you." He gestured to both spies. "I am none too fond of Fury, either. He has a terrible sense of humor. Hill is rather tolerable after a drink or two--"
"Wait, wait, wait! Let's go back to the point where you consider us your friends." Stark insisted.
Loki gave the man a confused look that was echoed by Thor. The two exchanged glances, confirming that they were both equally confused, before Loki spoke. "You are Thor's friends, yes?"
"Well, yeah..."
"And we brawl and banter often."
"But that's not..."
"You are even prone to tease and infinitely more pleasant than Sif or The Warrior's Three. What would you call it?" Loki asked.
"You did not know Loki was fond you?" Thor questioned them all. "He has not attacked our home in months and he stages these games often."
"Games," The Widow repeated.
"Yes," Thor answered. "Loki is too fond of his tricks, but--"
"This is a game to him."
Thor looked confused. "It always has been. Did you not know?"
"So that first time, too?" The Captain asked.
Thor looked a bit chagrined as he answered this time. "A crueler game, I admit, but Loki was rather put off with me. Since making friends here, he's been much kinder."
"We kick your ass all the time!" Stark objected.
Loki rolled his eyes. "I usually let you win. Not that you haven't gotten me a few good times. That first time, I was only ever after Thor, though and he rather cheated."
"You are one to talk of cheating!" Thor grumbled.
"How does any of this translate to friendship to you?" Stark interrupted again.
Loki gave him another confused stare. "What would you call it?"
"We're enemies."
"You break bread with your enemies?" Loki questioned. He added, "Amora and I have been enemies. It does not stop us from being friends. Thor is always an idiot, oaf that never learns or thinks of anyone but himself, but I forgive him daily."
"Don't you mean he forgives you?" Barton said.
"Do not pretend to understand the relationship between my brother and I, nor which of us is in the wrong. It is no concern of yours." At this Loki stood. He gave a last nod to his brother before teleporting away.
"Is he actually gone so that we can talk about him?" Stark questioned.
Thor laughed. "I know not, but with Loki it matters not how careful you are. He will learn what you think one way or the other." Thor didn't mention Loki's invisibility explicitly. That was one thing he appreciated about his brother, Thor did not give up his secrets when he could help it.
Loki watched them from the branches of the tree they were gathered around. He wondered what was so strange about what he'd said, but since Thor seemed just as clueless (not that Thor often knew things when Loki did not), he assumed it was some strange Midgardian thing. Then again, maybe they were like Sif, who would pretend not to be Loki's friend, but fretted over him anyway.
Loki decided not to give the mystery much more thought and left for his hideout.