Work Text:
“I was wondering if you would do me the honor of courting me?”
“I beg your pardon?!”
Loki, the God of Mischief himself, just asked to court you. Court you! This was the last thing you were expecting on your normal Tuesday afternoon. You are the prize administrator for the Avengers, an average human who goes above and beyond for a rag tag group of above average humans, and non-humans alike. The relentless paperwork was the bane of your existence and made you want to claw your eyes out for some relief, but overall, you loved your job. And boy, did they appreciate you. If anyone hated boring paperwork, it was Tony Stark, so he made sure to express his thankfulness and your attention to detail every time he laid eyes on you. Your hours and pay are great, vacation days were plentiful, and while you technically worked for Tony and the Avengers, you considered them your friends.
So, when Loki joined the group, albeit very reluctantly, you expressed the same friendliness you gave the rest of the team. On the very first day he moved into the Tower, his brother Thor at his side, you greeted him with a wide, sweet smile and offered him your hand to shake. The god just looked at it, scoffed, and walked away. The interactions between the two of you did not change much from that day. Loki would never look you in the eye. Instead, he only offered side glances and whenever you asked him a question, usually pertaining to work, his response was either a grunt or a couple of words if he was feeling particularly generous.
The message was clear. You were lower than the dirt on his boots.
But there he stood, shuffling in those very boots, and still avoiding eye contact with you as if you were Medusa. The faint pink tint to his cheeks was endearing, you did admit to yourself. But as you looked at him, you started to feel one thing: irritation. He literally knows nothing about you, never engaged in meaningful conversation with you, and frankly sometimes made your job much more difficult than it needed to be due to his aloofness and he expected you to say yes to his courtship?
Okay, yes, he was the most handsome man you ever laid eyes on. Yes, he was a freakin’ prince and a God and an Avenger. But did he really expect that to be enough? The privilege was real.
“I am sure it took a lot for you to come over to me, Loki, but I am going to have to say no.” Somehow, the irritation wasn’t in your tone as your professionalism took over. You started to gather your things to escape from this awkward encounter.
“I beg your pardon?” Loki said, mirroring your response from earlier. His brows were furrowed in adorable confusion.
“Loki, you barely talk to me. I think this is the most you have talked to me in months. I am pretty sure you don’t even know my last name.”
“Uh, of course I do!” Loki crossed his arms, feigning confidence with his tall stature, “You’re Y/F/N…Smith? No, Lee. No, Thomas. No, it is definitely Smith, I am sure of it.” He grinned widely at you. Oh, he was so sure of himself and while his smile was dazzling, you wanted to smack it right off his handsome face. The audacity.
“No. It’s Y/L/N.”
“Right, that’s what I meant!” You rolled your eyes and started to walk away.
“Wait!” Loki called out after you, following you easily with his long strides, “What must I do to get you to say yes?”
You had made it to the elevator, and you were frantically pressing the button, desperately wanting escape from this conversation that keeps on getting weirder and weirder. The trickster’s request was annoying and irritating for sure, but you didn’t want to hurt him. Your kind heart wouldn’t let you walk away from this guiltless, so running away was your solution to try and maintain your self-respect.
“Don’t hit it, just press it gently.” Loki’s advice just dug under your skin even more. You knew how to operate an elevator! Still, you smashed the button with your fist with frustration.
“I am pressing it gently!” Finally, the elevator dinged, and you hopped in, whipping yourself around to face Loki.
“Learn something about dating here on earth. Watch a damn Rom-Com or something,” You sneered, leaving a wide-eyed Loki as the doors closed in front of him.
Courting was a very formal affair as a part of the royal court and not to be taken lightly and Loki knew this. Back on Asgard, he would simply just ask to court someone, and they would always graciously accept his proposal. They would be practically falling at his feet! Yet, here you were, denying him and lecturing him on courting techniques. Loki’s initial reaction was a plethora of emotions all at once.
Shock. Offense. Then, eventually, consideration. But mostly offense.
Now, Loki was quite ignorant to much of Earth’s, or Midgard as he called it, cultures, and nuances. Frankly, he thought it was below him. Everything Asgard had to offer was so much better than anything Midgard had, and so he never invested much time in learning more. It never crossed his mind that Asgardian courting norms wouldn’t be accepted here, let alone offensive.
The first day he saw you, he was infatuated. The smile you gave him so freely awoke something in his heart that he long since believed was dead. He greedily drank your very essence in. The color of your hair, the suppleness of your skin, the brightness of your eyes, and the softness of your lips. You were the most beautiful creature he had ever laid eyes in all his thousands of years and for a moment, after you greeted him, he was stunned. He felt his silver tongue turn to lead and the anxiety of embarrassing himself in front of you made his chest tighten.
Still, at his side, was his brother, Thor. There was no way he would ever be able to share his new, budding crush while his brother was right next to him. Loki would never hear the end of it! So, he did what he always did. He kept his stone-cold façade and treated you like you didn’t matter. Oh, but you did matter.
As the weeks passed, his infatuation for you only grew. Not only were you breathtaking, but you were clever. You handled Tony’s sarcasm with quick witted quips of your own, you held The Widow’s trust, and your opinion was well respected by The Captain. While you were, by first glance, an average mortal, you were far from it. Everything you did amazed Loki more and more, but what he cherished the most was your compassionate, kind, and gentle heart. Whenever anyone needed encouragement or a hug, you offered your whole self with words of encouragement and warm embraces. You were the teams behind the scenes cheerleader and everyday Loki scolded himself for pushing you away and treating you so coldly.
He wondered if he could ever be on the receiving end of your sweet gestures, to be the one to make you smile and laugh. He wanted to pour his affections on you as you poured your love on the team. But old habits are hard to break and each time he had a chance to be warm, his icy protective wall would shoot right up. It wasn’t until the anniversary of his fall from the Bifrost passed that he gathered the courage to finally ask to court you. There was no time like the present!
Your denial of him was heartbreaking, but you did offer him another chance technically. You were worth trying again for. Maybe he would take your advice and learn from these Rom-Com’s. But first, he would have to figure out what they were.
The Norns were on his side because just as that thought crossed his mind, the elevator dinged again, and a young Peter Parker hopped off.
“Good afternoon, Mr. Loki.” Peter chirped. The young hero was the only person in the Tower that would never judge Loki for asking questions about Midgard. Others would tease him endlessly for being ignorant, or worse – they would be like Tony and give the completely wrong information and watch Loki squirm as he made a fool of himself.
“Spiderling, just the person I need.” Peter gulped, never knowing what to expect from the God of Mischief, but still he kept his happy demeanor, “I need to know what a Rom-Com is.”
The look of relief on Peter’s face was obvious.
“Oh! Those are movies, Mr. Loki. Romantic comedies.” Loki had watched a few Midgardian films before, but he always preferred reading. Maybe there was something about dating to be learned about on these films. You did suggest it, after all.
“Can you give me suggestions?”
Peter was more than gracious with letting Loki borrow from his movie collection. The Spiderling seemed slightly embarrassed by the amount of Rom-Com’s he had in his possession, though Loki didn’t understand why. But with over twenty films in his arms, he knew he would find out what he needed to win your heart.
If Loki was anything, he was meticulous with his studies. He sat in front of his television in his little apartment within the Avenger Tower, notebook and pen in hand, and pressed play. It took him several days to get through all the movies. Thankfully, his reclusive nature was enough to explain him being held up in his room and avoiding interacting with the team.
Admittedly, he thought the movies were cliché, even cheesy and for a moment he questioned if they could or even should be taken as valuable sources for dating advice. But your heart was sweet and kind. Why would you lie to him?
His diligent note taking and studying paid off as he did notice quite a few common threads amongst the movies. The cogs in his brilliant, trickster mind was starting to turn as a wide grin grew on his face. It was time to try and win your heart again and now, he had newfound knowledge and tricks up his sleeve.
The prince from the foreign land who falls in love with the average person.
It had been several days since your encounter with Loki, and you thanked the God’s above for sparing you from any further awkwardness. You went about your days like usual and like many other days, you sat in the community kitchen enjoying a simple, yet delicious lunch.
“Hello, Darling.” You jumped, not noticing that Loki had popped up right next to you. The food on your fork went flying and landed on the nearby wall. You could practically hear the food sliding down the walls as you had your head in your hands. How embarrassing!
“What can I do for you, Loki?” You asked through gritted teeth, still not looking at the God next to you.
“I was just wondering if you were aware that I was a prince.” The velvety tones of his voice were smooth and charming…but what the Hel did he just say? You finally peeked up at him and there he stood in all his traditional royal Asgardian garb, curved golden horns and all. Everything about him was intimidating, regal, and magnificent. You couldn’t help but gawk at him. Loki must have noticed your greedy stare as he puffed out his chest a bit, bursting with pride and confidence.
“Yes, I was aware.” That immediately deflated his pride and his chest. Maybe he had to clarify it some more.
“And are you aware that I am from Asgard, not only a foreign land on this planet, but a foreign planet and realm all together?” Okay, now you were thoroughly confused. Did he think you were stupid or something?
“Yes,” You eyed him suspiciously now, wondering what the trickster was getting at with his line of questioning, “…I am aware of that too.”
“Oh, right.” Loki started to fidget. This wasn’t going as easily as he thought. Out of all the commonalities with the Rom-Coms, this was the easiest one he could implement. He literally was a prince from a foreign land trying to gain the affections of an average person. He should have this in the bag! Now, he had no idea what to do. You were staring at him as he stood in front of you, dressed to the nines in his royal attire as he was slowly transforming into the court’s fool
“And you are an average mortal, are you not?” Loki asked, his big, blue eyes wide and vulnerable.
“Well, thanks Loki. I guess I am ‘average.” You scoffed, again standing up and gathering your lunch. The tone in your voice was obvious. You were angry. He was so sure this would work! He stared at your back as you walked away, frozen in place. He thought long and hard. You were far from average – it was one of the things he adored about you the most, your uniqueness. That must be why this plan was such a failure. Thankfully, he had more Midgardian Rom-Com courting techniques up his sleeve. And besides, this is usually how it played out! The protagonist would deny the love interest constantly, yet by the end of the movie they were madly in love. Loki just had to play the long game. He was sure of it.
The Coffee Meet-Cute
Now, Loki had obviously already met you, but maybe a fresh start is what he needed. The coffee meet-cute was quite simple. Loki would stumble into you on your way into work, coffee in hand. It would be messy, the one part that Loki did not find that appealing, but once the character’s eyes connected sparks would fly, stars would explode, and everything was right in the world. The trickster never understood Midgardian’s fascination for the bitter beverage, being a fan of tea himself, but he wasn’t going to question the magic that was Rom-Coms.
So, Loki found himself hovering just around the corner of your office in the early hours of the morning with two coffees in his hands. Eventually, he heard the sweet melody that was your voice as you made your way down the hall. You huffed, tossing your heavy bag again over your shoulder. The thing didn’t want to stay up! Everything was going wrong this morning. Your favorite pair of pants had a tear in it, you couldn’t find your keys, and everyone and their mother seemed to be in your way as you were running late into work.
CRASH.
The next thing you knew, you were face to face with a broad chest and hot, everything was so hot! It was scalding! You all but ripped your clothes off your body in an attempt to get the hot coffee off of your body and save your skin, literally. Then you felt cold on you, very, very cold.
It was at that moment that you realized that you were practically topless in front of the God of Mischief. And he was staring at you! And his hands were on you! Immediately, his seidr had covered your body and healed and cooled your skin. All traces of burns were gone, and you sighed in relief. Sighed, right before you remembered your current state and the fact that he was touching you!
The horrified shriek that left your body was borderline demonic. Your arms flailed and shoved Loki away in a pathetic attempt to cover your exposed skin.
“Darling, Darling! It’s fine! It’s nothing I haven’t seen before!” Loki tried to reassure you. If you weren’t so panicked, the worried look on his face might have been cute, endearing even. But there was no time for that! You were officially a next level banshee screaming and turning beet red with embarrassment as you tried to dig your keys out of your pocket with one hand, while remaining covered with the other.
Eventually, Loki caught on to what you were doing and with a flick of the wrist, your office was unlocked. You gathered your soiled clothes on the floor and all but threw yourself in your office, slamming and locking the door behind you. He mentally cursed himself for not paying attention to the temperature of the coffee. There was no awkward, yet charming apologies. No sly, yet enamored looks. And definitely no offer to ‘make it up to him by taking him out for coffee’. Your ‘meet cute’ wasn’t anywhere near that.
Instead, you were burned, and you screamed. And Loki felt horrible.
Loki took one last look at your office door before retreating to his room. There was only one thing left that he had to do, if only to make up for his blunder today.
The Grand Gesture.
One common theme among all the Rom Coms that Loki saw was the ‘grand gesture’. It was usually towards the end of the movie and the love interest professed their love for the main character in a big, dramatic way. Loki racked his brain for hours on what to do to not only prove his affections for you but make up for his coffee blunder. He laid in bed, letting his thoughts run wild as he did mindless magic. Anything to keep his hands busy. Fireworks had just erupted from his hands when he bolted upright. That’s it! He grinned like the lovesick fool he was. This was it.
The Asgardian Prince waited for you in the community kitchen and on cue, you predictably showed up for your routinely scheduled lunch. You took one look at the God and turned right on your heel to hightail it out of there. It had been months of quiet, cold looks from Loki and now, it was like he was everywhere!
First, he reminds you of how dreadfully average you are. Like you needed that reminder when your job was to push paper in a Tower literally filled with superheroes. Next, he shows up at your office with coffee and spills it all over you, burning you! You did give him points for healing you, but those points were quickly taken away as you remembered how naked you were in the middle of the hallway. You were mortified! And you weren’t going to stick around to see what else the Trickster had up his sleeve.
“Wait!” Loki’s deep voice stopped you in your tracks. You wanted to run away, but even with that one word he sounded so frantic, so fragile. You turned around and faced him.
“I know I have been a fool lately and I am dreadfully sorry about the coffee yesterday. Will you please, allow me to make it up to you?” Loki pleaded.
The God of Mischief actually pleaded. The God that made people kneel and turned the city to rubble, was begging you to give him a chance to be kind, to be better. Those pleas shone bright in his eyes that bore right into you. Loki was much taller than you, but he looked so small standing by himself in the kitchen. One thing you learned about the Avenger’s is that people deserve second chances. And in Loki’s case, maybe a third and fourth chance and who were you to deny him that?
“Fine,” You relented, “You can make it up to me.” The sheer unbridled joy that swept across Loki’s face almost made burning yourself worth it. Almost. The God bounced on his heels with a renewed boyish excitement and much to your surprise, you found it quite infectious. You too were smiling just as wide back at him.
“Watch this.” He said simply, raising his hand above his head. You watched earnestly, knowing that he was well versed in magic. You had the pleasure of seeing it in person a few times, but it looks like he was going to give you your own personal show! Goosebumps started to raise on your skin as you felt your body teeming with excitement.
Fireworks started to erupt and burst from his hand and you oo’ed and ahh’ed as you watched the display. As the seconds passed, the fireworks started to get bigger and bigger. The colors and lights shone and reflected in your wide eyes as you stood there in amazement. Soon, the kitchen was filled with colorful sparks of light of every color of the rainbow. Some of the fireworks exploded into shapes of stars and hearts before bursting into little glimmers of confetti that fell harmlessly to the ground.
It was the most incredible thing you had ever seen! You were bursting with joy, but you had to bring your hands up to your ears. The fireworks not only looked real, but they sounded real as well. With each big bursting firework, there was a loud boom that came with it. The booms were so loud, you didn’t even hear the room fill with Shield Agents.
“Down on the ground!”
The next thing you knew, you were tackled to the ground and your arms were twisted behind your back. You squeaked out in pain and in shock. Loki must have been lost in the magic as well, as a Shield Agent slapped a magic dampening cuff on his wrist, putting an unceremoniously halt on his magical gift to you. The Shield Agents knew better than to try and tackle Loki. While his magic was subdued by the cuff, he was still a God with strength to match. Instead, they pointed an array of obscenely large guns at him.
Loki held up his hands in defense, but then he saw you on the ground and a Shield Agent on your back. A feral growl came out from the depths of his chest.
“You better let them up now if you know what is best for you.” Loki warned. In his younger years, he would have destroyed those who dared harmed you. But he wanted to be better. He wanted to be better for you.
The agents heed his warning and lifted you up to your feet, your arms still secured behind your back. It was at that moment that Loki noticed that you were crying. His heart shattered. He had seen your look of wonder as you watched the fireworks burst above you and it made the butterflies flutter wildly in his stomach. On Asgard, strength was always cherished over magic, but channeling his seidr was something he was good at. Amazing, even. It filled him with pride to see you so enthralled by it. It made him feel worthy. But, yet again, it all fell apart.
Maybe he didn’t deserve happiness after all. Maybe he didn’t deserve you.
Just as his mind started to run wild, he was pulled from his thoughts when Tony and Steve burst into the room.
“What happened?! I thought there was an explosion!” Tony bellowed in his full Iron Man gear. He turned and saw you, hot tears rolling down your cheeks. He then saw Loki.
“Reindeer Games, what did you do?!” He lifted his arm, ready to blast the God into oblivion when Steve stopped him.
“Can you tell us what happened?” Steve asked you, tone as gentle as can be. He waved off the agent that was restraining you and held onto your shoulders as they shook in quiet sobs. Loki looked on, now filled with a jealousy that he knew he shouldn’t feel. He hated seeing you so upset, but he wanted to be the one to comfort you.
“Yes,” You hiccupped, slowly trying to gather yourself, “Loki was showing me some magic. Fireworks. Then the agents burst in.”
“Are you kidding me, Reindeer Games?!” Tony yelled, stepping closer to Loki, “You know, no magic of that magnitude outside of the training room! We thought we were under attack! The whole building was evacuated! Now, we have to have a press conference to explain this, and Pepper is going to kill me!”
Tony threw his hands up in exasperation before dismissing the Shield Agents. The magic cuff was ordered to stay on ‘to teach Loki a lesson’ and Tony stormed out of the room. Steve checked in with you one time before following Tony, leaving you alone with Loki once more.
What Actually Works
Overwhelming guilt carried Loki over to you in quick, long strides. His large hands ghosted over your form that still shook in shock from the situation. You unintentionally flinched when he came near you and Loki’s hands dropped immediately to his sides. Everything was ruined. Any chance with you was ruined and the God knew that. He just needs to know that you are okay.
“I am so sorry that happened.” Loki’s voice shook with emotion and shame, “Are you alright?”
Still, at a loss for words, you quickly nodded your head. Your arms wrapped around your body, hugging yourself for some sort of comfort. These last few days have been horrible, and you needed to know why.
“Why is this happening, Loki? Do you hate me?” You avoided Loki’s eyes, but if you saw him, you would have seen the blatant look of shock.
“What? No, I don’t hate you, Darling. I could never hate you.” He took a daring step forward and placed a gentle hand on your shoulder. This time you didn’t flinch. His touch felt warm and comforting, and you welcomed it. You lifted your head and looked up at him and you saw the emotions swirling in his eyes. Something you never noticed before.
“Everything from this past week involving you has been horrific,” Loki couldn’t help but cringe at your comment, even though he knew it was true, “I thought you were trying to get back at me for turning you down.”
Loki held onto you a little bit tighter hoping to convey his feelings to you through his fingertips, “No, I could never do anything like that to you.” He let out a long sigh. It was time to fess up.
“I was trying to impress you. To try and court you as Midgardian’s would. I watched those Rom-Com’s as you called them to learn, but nothing turned out right. I never meant to hurt you, Darling, truly.”
There was a long pause between the both of you. You stared up at him, noticing the light dusting of a rosy blush on his cheeks. With all the chaos of the week, you never got the chance to look at him properly and even process any other possibilities of other intentions. You had just assumed the trickster was tricking you. It never occurred to you that he was being genuine. Then, his words truly hit you and you burst out laughing.
“You watched Rom-Coms for dating advice?! That is a horrible idea!” You had renewed tears in your eyes, but this time it was from giggling so hard. Loki let go of you, crossing his arms as his defenses starting to build back up.
“Well, it was you that suggested it!” He scoffed. You thought back and then you remembered your interaction by the elevator.
“I meant that sarcastically!” You said in between laughs. Loki was now thoroughly embarrassed. The God had the gift of Allspeak, but his favorite language was sarcasm. How did he not notice your tone? He was officially the court’s fool.
“Right, that’s it! That’s what I get for trying to impress the pretty and enchanting mortal! How could I ever deserve someone as clever and as kind as you?!” Loki bellowed in the kitchen, seemingly to no one in particular even though he was clearly referencing you “Everything you do is beautiful and captivating! Your walk. Your voice. You have the best and most beautiful heart I have ever had the pleasure of knowing and just being in your presence is an honor. You deserve all the most amazing things that the Nine Realms has to offer, and I just wanted to make you happy. You deserve to be happy. And, of course, I ruined everything.”
Loki was lost in his rant, arms and hands moving wildly as he paced back and forth. You just looked on with your mouth agape in shock. This is definitely not how you thought your day was going to go. And despite all the craziness that this God had brought to your life this week, you found yourself smiling.
“What did you say, Loki?” The trickster whipped his body around to look at you and the first thing he saw was your sweet smile. The blush on his face crept down his neck as he realized that he just shared way more than he ever meant to.
“It is fine. I know you don’t feel the same way. I don’t need your pity.” You took a few steps towards him until you were face to face with Loki, or face to chest thanks to his tall stature. Taking his hands in yours, you looked him in the eye.
“All I wanted from you Loki was for you to be genuine and to get to know you. Courting is a bit much for me when I don’t know you that well, but you know what I do know?” You asked and he shook his head, words lost on him.
“I know that you, too, are kind. You are kind and sweet enough to try and learn how to impress me and make me happy. I know that you are brave, and you persevere, because that is the only way I can describe how you kept on trying after each failure.” Loki couldn’t help but let out a dry laugh at that.
“And I have to admit, the fireworks were pretty incredible,” You smiled up at him, and Loki thought it was the most beautiful sight he had ever seen, “Right before the agents came in anyways.”
“So, the grand gesture worked?” He smirked and you rolled your eyes, laughing at the return of his cockiness.
“Yes, it did. I was always impressed by your magic. So much so, that I think I will let you take me on a date.” Loki’s face immediately softened, and he gently squeezed your joined hands.
“Truly? You will let me take you on a Midgardian date?” He smiled so wide; overcome with such happiness that you were even entertaining going out with him. It was so cute, so adorable that you were lifting on your toes and placing a soft kiss on his cheek.
“Yes, I will go on a date with you, Loki. Just no coffee this time.” It was your turn to smirk, but Loki still dazzled you with his smile that was nothing but genuine and happy.
“That, Darling, I can do.”