Chapter Text
There wasn't much to do in a crowded, Midwest airport a few days before Christmas.
Loki should have known better than to travel this time of year, but Frigga had said please so sweetly, it had been so long since he'd seen her, and... well, it might have gone better if she had mentioned beforehand that Thor and Odin would be there as well. Then he wouldn't have gotten into a yelling match with his foster family, reminded himself why he was estranged from them in the first place, and booked it back to the airport just to escape. He wouldn't have gotten a crappy seat on the next flight to any domestic town beyond driving distance, only to get landlocked when weather forced most of the flights back to New York to be delayed. Even the flights with two and three and four stops were locked because hello, it was five days before Christmas, everyone was getting on and off a plane, and half the airports in the Northern half of the country were snowed in.
All Loki wanted to do now was get back home so he could go to sleep for a long time and have a quiet Christmas with his friends: the only three people that actually made him feel any kind of holiday spirit that wasn't a rejection of the season in general and all its stressful connotations of family get-togethers.
Loki Borsson (@trikstrgod)
@americanair What kind of airport plays "Winter Wonderland" to people stuck in a terminal?
If he was stuck here, he might as well share his misery to the amusement of his friends. Twitter's character limit at least shortened the bitterness to small doses.
Natasha Romanov (@Widow-Maker)
Accept your fate, @trikstrgod. Wasn't the final level of hell icy? Walking in a Winter Hellscape?
Exhausted and drained though he was, Natasha's tweet back made Loki smile. Bless her dark, little soul; Natasha was a gift, and her company and her friendship was more valuable than Loki could ever put a price on.
But instead of her company, Loki was here. People watching. Watching idiots. Why did people think being rude to the employees would get anything done faster? Everyone was stuck here. Employees included. As if having to suffer the company wasn't bad enough, Loki had to watch people being indecent human beings on top of it all.
Five hours into what was supposed to be a two hour layover to the next flight, of course his eyes wandered. And yes, they wandered a lot. People watching had become a beloved and disappointing pastime of Loki's that more often ended in Loki debating becoming a hermit, so he hardly expected his sights to get caught on the guy sitting on the floor a few dozen yards across the terminal. Loki could mostly see the stranger's profile and a bare few glimpses of his full face when he glanced around. Just a few glances, but Loki was drawn in with that alone. Short brown hair shot with slight silver at his temples, a sharply trimmed goatee that framed his mouth and jaw, and dark eyes. The only aspect of his outfit that Loki could really decipher from this angle aside from dark denim jeans was the hot rod red scarf with gold edging wrapped around the man's neck and the heavy charcoal grey coat he had tossed over his bags and part of the floor. With Twitter already open, it took just a few seconds to post an update to continue the story sharing of his long wait.
Loki Borsson (@trikstrgod)
There's a hot goateed guy on the floor, eating dried blueberries from a bag. I'm inclined to go and introduce myself as his future husband.
Loki hardly had the perfect view, and twenty feet closer would have been much better, but there were some things that Loki acknowledged as likely to be unwelcome advances. Particularly when it came to men flirting with men. Reactions ranged from flattered but polite rejection to outright disgust, and Loki wasn't in the mood to suffer such a rebuff from such a hunk. So Loki admired from a distance.
His phone buzzed when Natasha replied a simple:
Natasha Romanov (@Widow-Maker)
@trikstrgod Pictures required before I can approve him. All potential husbands vetted by me first.
but Loki had to wait until the hottie crumpled up his empty bag of snacks and reclined back on the pile of luggage comfortably. Given that Loki's Twitter was mostly followed by friends, it wouldn't be wrong to take a picture, would it? How many people would honestly see it? Surely very few? So Loki snapped a photo as discreetly as possible and posted it.
Loki Borsson (@trikstrgod)
@Widow-maker My love will last longer than those blueberries did.
Natasha Romanov (@Widow-Maker)
@trikstrgod Wow. Very approved. Now go talk to him. I want to be an aunt soon, and you're my best shot at adopted nieces.
Loki politely declined but kept admiring the view regardless as said unwitting paramour propped an expensive tablet on his thighs, plugged in earbuds, and started tapping away. Lovely. Distracted enough that Loki could sneak in more peeks. Perhaps more and longer peeks than he should have, but what else was there to do around here?
His phone buzzed a couple more times while Loki was lost in daydreams of better time gone by and hopeful fantasy futures, but he eventually snapped himself out of it and unlocked his phone to check in.
Bucky Barnes (@prsthticesthic)
@trikstrgod, if you don’t go talk to that hottie, I will fly over there and snag him myself.
Natasha Romanov (@Widow-Maker)
@prsthticesthic Find your own eye candy, Barnes.
Bucky Barnes (@prsthticesthic)
C'mon @Widow-Maker, if you were looking, wouldn't you be looking at a hot goateed guy too?"
Natasha Romanov (@Widow-Maker)
This one's taken. Not that a showmanship fight between @prsthticesthtic and @trikstrgod wouldn't be fantastic to watch.
Bucky Barnes (@prsthticesthic)
Which peacock will win the show? Tune in whenever the fuck Loki actually makes it back to NY.
Loki decided against the temptation to ignore them and tried to finish his reply before they could get into another fight.
Loki Borsson (@trikstrgod)
This is a real person we're talking about here, so show some respect. Also, get your own husband, Barnes.
The whole situation was ridiculous, Loki felt ridiculous being here, and his fascination with this stranger in particular was ridiculous, so why not continue it with vigor?
Bucky Barnes (@prsthticesthic)
@trikstrgod Fine then. Be a selfish punk. See if I pick you up at the airport tomorrow or not.
Loki Borsson (@trikstrgod)
You sit in packed terminal, through the same fifteen insipid songs redone by fifteen million artists, and you can get the handsome guy.
Bucky Barnes (@prsthticesthic)
Nerds always get the hotties in the movies, so why not @trikstrgod?
Loki Borsson (@trikstrgod)
I feel so attacked right now. Shut up, @prsthticesthtic. I'll see if he has a brother for you.
Bucky Barnes (@prsthticesthic)
Fuck off. I should be safe from your matchmaking though since YOU'RE NEVER GOING TO TALK TO HIM.
Loki Borsson (@trikstrgod)
Watch me, peasant. Oh, wait. You don't have a hot goateed guy to flirt with. Shame.
But when Loki glanced up to make good on his response, the cutie and his bags were gone. An oddly deep panic set into Loki’s chest that surely was disproportionate to the fact that he didn’t even know the guy, but somehow, the thought of losing track of him genuinely distressed Loki. It was silly. He didn’t know the man. He just... really wanted to know him.
Trying to make light of it and loosen the knot in his chest, Loki updated again:
Loki Borsson (@trikstrgod)
Oh, no! Hot goateed guy's disappeared!
Natasha Romanov (@Widow-Maker)
You could ask an officer for help. I'm sure they would after you tell them details of your relationship.
Natasha suggested, followed by another tweet:
Natasha Romanov (@Widow-Maker)
@americanair, pls find and assure that my friend meets his husband and shares his flight. Also, pls introduce them.
Bucky Barnes (@prsthticesthic)
"No I don't know his name, but here's a recent picture. Of course he's my husband. Why are you looking at me like that?"
Barnes returned, and Loki wanted to reach through his phone screen and smack them both upside the head.
Loki Borsson (@trikstrgod)
♪ My baby's gooooone and I HAVE NO FRIENDS ♪ @prsthticesthtic & @Widow-maker
Grabbing his bags, Loki picked a direction and started wandering. Where to? His knowledge of the man was that he was okay with laying on airport floors (shocking and worrying, honestly), that he liked dried fruit, and had good taste in electronics. That didn't exactly help much. Loki's head throbbed, and his eyes begged for sleep, but he wasn’t testing his luck on napping until he was on a flight headed somewhere, just in case there were any more gate and/or time changes. Getting stranded in a Missouri airport was not exactly Loki's idea of a well-spent holiday, so he made a beeline to the coffee shop for some liquid strength.
Then again, maybe he was already attuned to his wishful fiancé.
Loki stepped into the lengthening line for Starbucks and turned around to snap a picture of half of his face and the rest of the queue line stretching out towards the shop. Including the hot goateed guy about four people ahead of Loki.
Loki Borsson (@trikstrgod)
Found him. Enjoying our first coffee run together.
Clint Barton (@hawkward)
Well, keep us informed on if you find out his name.
Make that three people to punch when he got back to New York.
Loki Borsson (@trikstrgod)
Go back to your farm, @hawkward.
Clint responded with nothing more than a winking emoji, and Loki grimaced at his phone more than a little. Looking up for another peek at the back of the hot goateed guy's head, Loki was struck to catch the other man's eye. Brown. The man had brown eyes. And a lovely smile. Loki barely recovered enough from the sight to give him a smile back. The fleeting moment was torn apart as the man turned to face the front of the line again, and Loki braced himself back against his luggage and took a deep breath.
Loki Borsson (@trikstrgod)
I'm done. His smile is made of sunshine.
He'd just posted it when he froze and looked at what was becoming a saga on his Twitter page. Was he really so desperate and fragile as to latch on to a stranger like this? It was just a joke. It was just supposed to be a joke about a cute guy, and he was taking it too far. Why was he taking it so far?
His friends hadn't had the chance to reply before Loki updated again.
Loki Borsson (@trikstrgod)
This is ridiculous. _I'm_ ridiculous. What the hell am I doing. What the fuck is wrong with me that I'm creeping on this guy.
He shoved his phone in his pocket and broke out of line with his bags to go back and slump back down on to the uncomfortable seats. Sure, it was a shitty place to be right now, but why the fuck was he suddenly obsessed with a stranger? It was sick, and now he felt it too.
His phone vibrated again a couple times, until he couldn't keep ignoring it and checked just to shut them up. The airline had evidently seen Natasha's earlier tweet and had responded that they unfortunately were an entirely indirect matchmaking service, but the attempt at a joke only turned to a stone in Loki's stomach. Bucky had replied to tell Loki to listen to Natasha, and so had Clint, but Loki had to scroll past them to see what she said.
Natasha Romanov (@Widow-Maker)
Loki, take a breath. You're away from home, betrayed from walking into a family ambush, and now you're attracted to a cute guy. It's okay.
And another:
Natasha Romanov (@Widow-Maker)
You're not stalking him; you're just focusing on what and who is attracting positive feelings in a shitty situation.
Loki followed the advice and took a couple deep breaths, but he still didn’t reply immediately. Maybe his actions were excusable, but he still felt weird. He knew he should reply so that they wouldn't worry about him, but he didn’t feel like saying much. So he just said what he could manage.
Loki Borsson (@trikstrgod)
Maybe you're right, @Widow-Maker.
Taking another heavy inhale and then puffing it out, Loki cradled his phone in his hands and laid his head back uncomfortably towards the low headrests of the seats. Maybe a nap wouldn't be a bad idea after all.
"Lose patience with the line?"
Loki startled and found the hot goateed guy with coffee in hand, standing right in front of Loki, staring at him and... talking to him? Well, his mind bitterly supplied, now James will lose that bet. Loki’s forced smile towards the stranger was probably incredibly unconvincing as the amused grin that he was aiming for, but he didn't want to not reply. "Yes. Something like that, I suppose. Losing patience, definitely."
The guy looked like he was trying for a comforting nod and slight laugh, but surely he could feel the awkwardness Loki was radiating. "I'm with you there." He started to back away already, and Loki didn't know how to stop him. "Well, good luck on your flights."
"Thank you." With a confirming nod, the guy turned his back, but Loki hesitated and called after him one more time. "Wait!"
He stopped immediately and looked back, and Loki tried for a more genuine smile.
"Good luck on your flights too."
Yep. Smile of sunshine, even the small ones. "Thanks."
Loki watched the guy return to his previous place on the floor, better facing Loki and propping up a slight bit more with tablet in one hand and his coffee cup in the other. Then Loki returned to his phone.
Loki Borsson (@trikstrgod)
Pay up, @prsthticesthtic, I talked to the cutie.
Bucky Barnes (@prsthticesthic)
And?! You talked to him and you're still tweeting?!
Loki Borsson (@trikstrgod)
And he's back over on his section of floor. If I were still talking to him, I wouldn't be tweeting.
Clint Barton (@hawkward)
Do you know how far back I had to scroll to figure out what was going on here, @trikstrgod?
Clint griped before:
Clint Barton (@hawkward)
Would you please go fucking talk to the man? You can either talk to him or forever regret not doing it.
Loki Borsson (@trikstrgod)
I'd mock you and call you "mother", but I'm actually talking to you, @hawkward.
Clint Barton (@hawkward)
@trikstrgod is salty today. Not enough sugar. I wonder who could help with that.
Loki Borsson (@trikstrgod)
Certainly not @hawkward
Idiot. He shouldn't make Loki smile so easily. Damn him.
Clint Barton (@hawkward)
How much are you going to wish you talked to him, @trikstrgod?
Clint tweeted with more persistence, and Loki grimaced when his brain supplied the answer so quickly: a lot. He would regret it a lot.
He glanced up to the hot goateed guy to see him still on his tablet, fingers tracing something on his screen and scrolling up in multiple places across the screen like he was working on several tasks at once. Must have been something important with his furrowed brow and look of intense concentration. But every few moments, it broke to amusement in the twist of one corner of his mouth. He glanced up for just a second, right at Loki, and gave him a difficult to decipher look before smiling a bit more and looking back to his tablet.
Loki Borsson (@trikstrgod)
Don't ask me questions I don't like the answers to, @hawkward.
Natasha and Bucky both replied before Loki could even finish posting and turning his phone off. They said about the same things in different words: talk to the guy. It was only a short while before his flight was supposed to be taking off, and it was undetermined whether or not hot goateed guy would be sharing that flight. Now or never.
But how the fuck was he going to explain that he'd spent half an hour talking about the guy to friends instead of talking to the guy himself? That was only ever going to come off as creepy.
Loki got distracted by laughter, and he had to internally groan at the lovely sight hot goateed guy made when he laughed.
Loki Borsson (@trikstrgod)
Bless whatever it was on his tablet that made the hot goateed guy laugh. I hear angels singing.
Bucky Barnes (@prsthticesthic)
Sounds dreamy. Maybe you could talk to him, and then we could all see his laugh in person later.
Loki Borsson (@trikstrgod)
That's assuming he's interested, @prsthticesthtic. Not everyone is gay, you know.
Bucky Barnes (@prsthticesthic)
THEN MAKE A GODDAMN FRIEND OR SMTH, JFC. TALK. TO. HIM.
Loki Borsson (@trikstrgod)
"YES, HELLO, I'VE BEEN STARING AT YOU FOR TWENTY MINUTES, AND YOU'RE HOT, CAN WE BE FRIENDS?" That will go splendidly.
He was waiting on a reply, but then someone new popped up and tagged Loki. And his heart about jumped into his throat.
Tony Stark (@strk_rvng)
@trikstrgod, hot goateed guy is flattered. ;3 And also pan, jsyk.
Loki stared. His friends buzzed a couple more times in shock and concern, but Loki's attention was glued to the few words from a stranger. Even looking up to confirm his fears seemed like a huge step, but he had to just...
He dared to raise his eyes to glance at the other man, and sure enough, the guy was looking right at Loki, with a cheeky grin and a wave ready as soon as he caught Loki's eye.
Jesus fucking Christ...
He gave up and just dropped his head between his legs with a groan, his phone limp in his hands. Could anything go right today? Evidently not. Less than thirty seconds later, Loki felt the seat shudder as someone sat down beside him heavily, but he couldn't look up. If he did, he would have to accept that this was possibly one of the most fucked up days he'd had since he was 17 and found out his parents weren't his parents.
"So. I know you proposed a while ago and all..." The guy started, and Loki just groaned again, "but I'm only just now hearing about it, so you'll have to forgive my delayed response." There was laughter in hot goateed guy's voice, and as much as Loki was now chagrined to realize that the earlier chuckling was likely while reading Loki and his friends' saga of tweets, Loki knew he would have to take a chance and look the fuck up. He wanted to talk to the guy, right? Well, here he was.
Loki sat up with a heavy sigh, giving himself another moment upright before turning his head towards the hot goateed guy and his shit-eating grin. "Hi there." The man greeted, and Loki felt ridiculously charmed amidst intense embarrassment.
"You read the whole thing, didn't you?"
"Yep."
"Oh god..." Loki covered his face again as he heard giggles beside him.
"I was just checking the airline's Twitter and stumbled across a curiosity-inducing response to a customer. A tour through Twitter later, I found you. Well, found myself." He explained. "Good thing too. I didn't know I took such good pictures from the side."
It took Loki a little more forced strength of will to come back out of himself and face the other man. "I'm sorry for the whole-"
"Not at all." The guy dismissed. "I actually tried to come over and talk to you. But you seemed kind of preoccupied and mostly-" he pointed to Loki's phone, "focused on that instead, so I just..." With a huff of embarrassment, the guy rubbed the back of his neck and chewed on his bottom lip nervously before dropping his hand and looking back to Loki. "No regrets." He said determinedly, then with a little more teasing: "I have a proposal to respond to, after all."
"You're never going to let me forget that, are you?"
"Maybe after a couple anniversaries have passed." He grinned, and Loki frankly loved the mischievous look in hot goateed guy's eyes. "You'll just have to put up with me. And speaking of, you're headed to New York too, right? Long flight." He led with all the subtlety of an approaching train. "Lot of changes. Would be nice to have some company."
"Like sitting together, perhaps? So you can torture me more?"
His chuckle was guilty but completely unrepentant. "This is me officially asking my new fiancé on a date."
Fuck. He was going to be so much trouble.
Finally, over the loudspeaker, the next connecting flight to New York was starting their boarding call at the next gate, and other man got to his feet and started pulling his bags together. Loki fiddled with his phone still vibrating every few seconds, but he didn't dare check it now and pull his attention away from the other man.
"So?" The guy asked. "Yes or no?"
Oh, what the hell. Why not? "Alright then." Loki agreed. "I could think of worse company to keep."
"Well, aren't we being sentimental? Honey?" Damn that smile. "Shall we, uh..." He nodded to Loki's phone, "update your friends one more time? Maybe a picture to bring it full circle?"
So much trouble. Loki was looking forward to it.
"Suggestions?"
"Hm." The man fiddled absently with an edge of his scarf. "I've got an idea if you're game."
"For screwing with them?" Curious, Loki unlocked his phone and handed it over. "It would be a pleasure."
He fucking beamed, and it could have broken Loki's heart. "Gimme a second." He shifted closer to Loki, their shoulders brushing so that Loki could see what Tony was doing as he tapped the camera icon for a new tweet. He paused before starting though and gave Loki a sideways glance. "I'm Tony, for the record. In case you skimmed past that when you were freaking out."
"Loki. Which you already knew."
"I did. But it's nice to hear it. And nice to meet you." They shared a quiet look that made Loki's heart stutter, but Tony - his name was Tony - broke it with a nudge to Loki's side. "Though some day, I expect a ring if you really want to take me off the market."
"Don't make me regret my proposal already."
"No promises." Tony teased and held up the phone to face them. "Now let's fuck with your friends. Give them a nice picture." Only at the instant before Tony took the picture, he turned to kiss Loki's cheek with an exaggerated chuick noise, and Loki almost laughed over the camera's shutter sound. Tony showed off the shot for approval before posting though: Tony's lips on Loki's cheek and Loki's face scrunched up in an obvious giggle while they both had a light flush of pink across their faces. It was certain to garner a lot of confusion and questions from Loki's friends, but given that he was about to board a plane and couldn't possibly respond immediately, it was the exact right time to post it.
"Approved?" Tony questioned, and Loki nodded and stepped close enough that the sides of their hips were touching.
"Ideal. I trust you have a caption in mind?"
"Of course. 'Hot goateed guy is wondering: what color for our boutonnières?'"
As Tony occupied himself tapping in the last few words and tagging them both, Loki took a chance and leaned in to place a soft kiss to Tony's temple, delighting in the short pause it caused Tony before he finished the tweet quickly, posted it, then held the phone back out for Loki. His voice was a bit tighter when he confirmed: "Done and done." When Loki tried to take his phone back though, Tony's hand lingered enough to brush his finger tips to Loki's. "You ready for our five-hour date? Naps may or may not be a possibility during said date; though it would be fun to come back and tweet that we've already slept together."
"You are a menace." Loki stashed his phone back in his pocket. "Sounds delightful."
From the time they walked off together, to halfway through the second plane flight, Tony was only ever quiet when Loki was talking instead. They talked family and friends, lovers and losses, and on into passions and hobbies and odd interests that entertained them. They shared many favorites in media and passionately disagreed with each other's choices in others at times. Tony encouraged pictures of their food to scold it as an improper first date meals, and made sure Loki didn't forget to post the numerous other commentary updates on his Twitter in between flights. Tony giggled like a kid and smiled like a summer day, and Loki was feeling like his original tweet might have been prophetic after all.
The day started as a disaster and continued into embarrassment and frustration, but this wasn't a bad wrap up. Eye-candy-cum-adorable-boyfriend? He turned "disaster" into "unexpectedly good" and that was still an understatement.
When Tony started dozing off partway through the final flight back to New York, Loki hardly minded considering he'd barely noticed when he startled awake from his own unrealized nap. Tony just took Loki's phone back with a sleepy smile, programmed in his contact information, and let Loki do the same with his number in Tony's phone. Afterwards, Loki settled in to go back to sleep positioned to wake up opposite Tony's face again. It would be a lovely view to wake up to again, he was sure, and what better way to greet coming home than to see his new boyfriend beside him?