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It’s embarrassing how long Loki has been preparing for this moment. Asking you out on a date. He spent hours looking for the right words, but never seemed to find any. The god even practiced their little speech in front of a mirror which he will never tell anyone about. Never. And even if they finally got the courage to take that step and try to be more than just friends with you, Loki had no idea where to take you! Tony said that a dinner in a nice restaurant would be great, but you hated eating in front of other people. So that was a huge no. Bruce suggested the cinema, but the trickster thought it would be too boring. You two would just sit in silence and watch a big screen. It would feel like a regular Saturday night to you and Loki didn’t want that. They wanted to do something special! Something Interesting enough that will make you say yes to the second date. The spider boy mentioned a carnival and the god knew it would be the perfect place. If you agree, of course. Norns, how Loki hoped that you would agree..
The compound was quiet. The trickster always valued the silence, especially in this building, but it was definitely too quiet for his liking. Calm before the storm as some would say. It didn’t ease Loki’s anxiety at all- on the contrary.
You were in the kitchen, cleaning after lunch. You clearly didn’t notice that someone was standing in the doorway, shamelessly watching how you put the dirty dishes into the dishwasher because you would clearly say something by now. Should he announce himself somehow? Maybe a simple hi would suffice? But that would be absolutely stupid since you’ve seen each other a few minutes ago.
Why has no one ever taught Loki how to court someone? It was hard!!! The god wouldn’t mind if someone wrote down how to tell somebody you wished to hold their hand and kiss them whenever you saw them. Loki didn’t like instructions, but he was good at following them. And if that's all it takes to win your affection then Loki was ready to do it.
“Penny for your thoughts?” Your voice brought Loki back to reality, making his heart jump to their throat.
“Oh, I’m just- The, you know- ask about..” the trickster stuttered. “The… thing.”
“Hmmm, the thing sounds very interesting.” You joked, smiling at your friend. Loki was well known for his thesaurus worthy vocabulary and yet sometimes he just couldn’t find the right words. At first you thought it might have something to do with language barriers, but little did you know it was you who made Loki lose the ability to speak. “Wanna tell me more about the thing while I take out the trash?” You said and picked up the trash bag which the god hadn't noticed before. Gesturing the trickster to follow you, you made your way to the elevators and sighed heavily when you noticed the piece of paper saying ‘out of order’ on it. “Ugh, how can you call yourself a genius and don’t know how to fix an elevator?!” You whined, cursing Tony in your mind. “I’m sorry, what did you want to tell me before?”
“I heard there was a carnival not so far away from here-” Loki mumbled, following you down the stairs. “Aaand I was wondering if you’d like to- you know… if you’d like to go there.” Your friend asked, nervously picking at his hands. Thank the norns, you couldn’t tell how scared the trickster was.
“I would love to!” You smiled at him, already loving the idea. “Fair carnivals are always fun! Did you tell Peter about it? He would love to go!”
“Oh, yes. I-I bet he would like.. That.” Loki slowly began to panic, not knowing how to tell you he wanted it to be a date. Just the two of you. No Peter. No other members of the team. Just you. “So are you free today? This evening? Let’s say 6 pm?” the god continued, hoping you would get the hint. He opened the door for you, like the gentleman he is and waited for you to put the bag into the bigger container. “If you don’t have time today we could always go there another time, that's not a problem at all!” The trickster cringed hard on the inside, knowing how stupid he sounded. How desperate. But you only smiled-- oh norns, that beautiful smile.
“I’m free today!” You called and made your way back inside with a happy bounce to your steps. “Oooh this is gonna be so fun! I can’t remember the last time I went to a carnival!” Your excitement made Loki grin. It was going to be an amazing night! “Maybe one of you will help me win a prize….. I never won anything.”
One of you? Oh, right. You were still convinced that it was the team’s night out. What if Loki told you it’s not and you would try to come up with an excuse not to go with him?
“Who else is coming by the way?” You asked and the god wished for the earth to open up and swallow them whole.
“Oh just-” us. “Thor and Peter, maybe Barnes, but I’m not sure yet.” The trickster lied, knowing there was no way to tell you no one else was coming. “We will all meet up at the entrance. I need to go now, see you later.” Your friend gave you thumbs up and ran up the stairs, disappearing before you could say anything else.
This evening was going to be really interesting.
You were late. 5 minutes late. Which wasn’t a lot, of course, but it made Loki think you wouldn’t show up at all. You hated being late which only worsened their emotional state- Loki’s mind truly hated him. Maybe you found out that the god tried to ask you out on a date and decided not to show up. The trickster sat down at the nearby bench and put his face into his hands, desperately trying not to cry. The sheer thought of you abandoning them like that deeply hurt them. The only thing keeping him sane was hope.
“Where is everyone?” You asked, looking around to find your friends. “Did they bail on us?”
“Oh…” The trickster stood up and put both of his hands in the pockets of his leather jacket, nervously fiddling with the keys inside. “They were neve- They wo-won’t come.” Loki’s voice broke halfway through the sentence. He was happy to see you- relieved even.
“Well, that’s a shame. Carnivals are awesome.”
“Their loss.” Loki laughed awkwardly, trying to quickly come up with some excuse why the rest of the team couldn’t go with you. But saying that he wanted to go on a date with you now would just be embarrassing.
“Their loss, indeed!” You smiled at the god, trying not to completely freak out. You were alone with Loki. Just the two of you this entire evening. “So what are we doing now, mischief?” You said, playfully hitting Loki’s shoulder with your fist and cringed on the inside when the trickster looked at your hand. How are you supposed to act normal when Loki was around?! You cursed Thor and Peter for not showing up. Now that you think of it, they probably did it on purpose. The young avenger has been teasing you for weeks now and you hated it. On the other hand they gave you a chance to hang out with Loki. And you really liked spending time with Loki….
“I’ve never been to a carnival like this, so-” Your friend announced and you snapped out of your thoughts. “I assume you know more about this than I do.”
“Yeah! Right.” You looked around to inspect all of the attractions, trying to figure out what Loki would like best. Your eyes spotted your favorite thing- spinning teacups. You jumped excitedly, grabbing Loki’s arm and shaking it with all your might. “LOOK! Over there!!!” You pointed enthusiastically at the ride in the corner. “Let’s go there!!! You will love this, I promise.” The god turned around, desperately trying not to focus on how close you were to them, but it was hard to ignore it when your body was almost squished against them. He could feel the warmth radiating from you.. Or was it just his face burning up? Either way, the feeling was really pleasant in Loki’s opinion.
“I trust your judgement.” Your friend smiled and let you drag him to your first destination.
Thankfully, there weren’t many people in the queue so you and Loki had one teacup just to yourselves. And even though there was more than enough space for the two of you, the god sat down right next to you. His smile was…. Beautiful. That’s the only word that could come to your mind at that moment. Loki, sitting next to you with no one around to interrupt your little date. Was it a date? Were you even allowed to think of your night out with Loki as a date? Because it really felt like a date to you. But even if it wasn’t a real date, you will still cherish the time you spent with your friend. It didn’t matter if the trickster felt the same because his friendship was already enough. God, you had to stop your thoughts because it was just embarrassing at this point. You will spend this evening together as good friends.
“Ready?” You asked, making yourself more comfortable in your seat.
“With you by my side? Always.” The god answered, leaving you speechless.
The operator started the ride before you could come up with a good reply. The sudden movement made Loki lose their balance, bumping into you. You embraced him without thinking twice- it was kind of a reflex. The god straightened their back and put an arm around your waist, pulling you closer to his body. The air was filled with people screaming louder than Thor could sing, but all you could hear was Loki’s lovely laugh. To anyone else you probably seemed like a happy couple- you were almost sitting in your friend’s lap, looking at him as if he was your whole world. And truth to be told, he was. Loki was your entire world and so much more. You didn’t even notice when the ride ended.
Still high on adrenaline- from both the teacups and Loki- you both left the ride to plan the rest of your night.
“The teacups were faster than I expected-” you giggled, feeling your knees buckle almost making you fall.
“I enjoyed it though. But I must admit…. I’m a bit hungry now. Do you want me to order something for you? I think they can deliver it here.” The god said.
You couldn’t help, but giggle again. You’ve been doing that very often when Loki was around. Is this how love feels like? Endless happiness mixed with an unfamiliar excitement. All because of one person. It felt good.
“It’s a carnival, Lokes. Look around.” You gestured at the corridors of trucks and cubicles filled with food, plushies and other toys. “You can find everything here from hot dogs to waffles.” Your stomach reacted to the word ‘waffles’ like a pavlov’s dog and you couldn’t ignore that. “We could take a walk down to the sitting area and see what they sell here and then decide what we want later.”
Loki nodded and you made your way down the alley, admiring the place. You were getting a little overwhelmed because of all the different smells, but didn’t mind it that much. Looking up you saw fairy lights hanging from the poles. There were many people around you so you moved closer to Loki, not wanting to lose your friend in the crowd. Your hands brushed and a shiver ran down your spine. Loki felt it, too. The younger prince almost melted on the spot, already imagining how it would feel to have your fingers intertwined with his. Should he do that? Was Loki even allowed to do it? But before the god could stop his mind from spiraling again they felt your pinky poking at his palm as if asking for permission.
Screw it, Loki thought and caught your hand, pulling you even closer.
You didn’t seem to mind which was good. Very good.
The trickster took a deep breath and turned their head to look at you, only to see you smiling at him. Loki’s heart skipped a beat- again. The god squeezed your hand and continued walking.
Suddenly, you stopped, pulling your friend back which almost made him fall.
“Loki!” You called with excitement in your voice. “Look!” You pointed at a little truck filled with plushies and jumped like a little kid.
“What is it?” The trickster asked, letting you drag them through the crowd. He could finally get a better look at the toys when you stopped and he was shocked. There were plenty of avenger animal plushies in different sizes on the shelves in the back. “Oh?”
“How much for the big Alligator Loki?” You asked the girl at the counter who was looking between you and the real Loki as if she couldn't believe what was happening.
“Uhm, it’s 200 points.” The girl answered, trying not to freak out upon seeing one of the superheroes in her little truck.. “You get 5 darts for 5 bucks- green balloons are for 20 points, blue ones are 40-” she quickly explained the rules, “red is for 60 points and yellow balloons are 80.”
You scanned the wall, knowing perfectly well that you don’t have the skills Clint does and your aim sucks. But you were determined to win that prize. There were only 3 yellow balloons that were hidden between the sea of green so it would be impossible for you to get them. Blue and red would be difficult to get, too. Turning around, you faced Loki and gave him the best puppy eyes you could make.
“Will you help me?” The god didn’t hear you. He was still staring at the, not so mini him as an alligator sitting on the highest shelf. There were other members of the team there as well, but HE was there! Loki! “Loki!” You called your friend’s name again.
“What? Yes?” They cleared their throat, nervously picking at his hands again.
“Will you help me win the mini you?”
“Why out of all the plushies you’d want to have me?”
“Because-” The question threw you off your rhythm. What were you supposed to say? Oh yeah, you really wanted to cuddle with Loki in your bed, but that would cross so many lines….. “Because I want to have your plushie. And if you won’t help me I will do it myself!”
Pulling out 5 dollars out of your pocket, you put it on the counter and waited for the girl to hand you the darts. Before she could give them to you, Loki stepped in and took them from her hand and took a step back.
“Yellow ones are for 80 points, right?” Your friend asked and got into the position.
“That’s right! Greens are for 20 and blues are for 40.” The woman repeated and moved out of Loki’s way. “Good luck!”
The trickster threw the first dart, hitting one of the blue balloons. Second throw- yellow. You watched your friend, silently cheering for him. The god’s face showed how concentrated they were- one eye closed, his nose was scrunched- oh gods, it was adorable. Another dart hit one of the green balloons and you heard Loki curse. The trickster aimed for another blue, but it hit the green balloon right next to it. Your friend straightened his back and took a deep breath. One last throw. They had to get at least 40 points to win and Loki was determined. You closed your eyes and crossed your fingers. You heard another pop and then felt someone picking you up.
“I did it!!!” The trickster said, spinning you around. You hugged him as if your life depended on it and giggled. “I won!”
“I knew you would!” You laughed and kissed your friend on the cheek. You didn’t have any time to get embarrassed because the lady at the counter spoke to you.
“Well, that’s 240 points for you!” She clapped her hands and pointed at the shelves. “What would you like?”
Loki put you down and gestured for you to go get the plushie. He has never seen you this happy. The alligator was as big as you which amused the god even more. It was funny to see you trying to walk with this enormous toy in your hands. You handed something to Loki and your friend took it with a questioning look.
“You had 40 points left which was enough for a keychain.” You explained and adjusted your Gator Loki so he wouldn’t fall. “I thought you would like the dagger.”
“I love it, thank you.” They responded and looked at your gift with a smile on his face.
“I should be the one thanking you. It was your victory after all.”
“My biggest victory was you agreeing to go on this date with m-” Loki stopped mid sentence, freezing in his spot.
“So it is a date then?” You were trying not to freak out, but the god’s words made you want to scream and kiss his face.
“I… it’s- if you want it to be…” The Jötun prince felt incredibly hot right now- the anxiety made his hands shake and was it sweat on their forehead? “Do you… want it to be a date?”
“Yes,” You answered, suddenly feeling brave. Moving the plushie out of your face you continued. “I actually kinda hoped it would be a date..”
The two of you stood in the middle of the alley, looking at each other like they were your sun. The people walked around you, but you ignored them. In this moment the person in front of you mattered the most.
“The night is still young and we have a lot of attractions to see.” The trickster broke the silence. “Let me carry that for you.” They pointed at your horned alligator with a smirk. You knew Loki would insist until you give the plushie to him so you just nodded and handed your new friend over to Loki. “Let’s go then, shall we?” The trickster put the alligator under his left arm and held up their right hand.
You took it, intertwining your fingers together.
“We shall.”