Lunch Date With Disaster

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

"Did you partake? When you were in New York." Tony spoke up from across the infirmary desk, having been mostly occupied with his own journal. "Food, that is. Not wanton mayhem."

True to his cavalier word, Tony had been consistent with his follow ups for part-medical/part-cosmetic/entirely-snoopy visits with Loki, who was still repaying his debts to society. They ended up settling on lunchtime (or breakfast in Tony's case, depending on what he got up to the night before) to do the "procedure" and "enjoy" an "amiable" back and forth. Today had been rather unremarkable--a few jabs, but a lot of quiet time in between.

Maybe it was desensitization to Loki's presence, but Tony's countenance was unremarkable. Vigilant, but passively so. In an odd way, the trickster's focus on his work had a mirroring effect that prompted Tony to focus on his own. None of that excepted some "polite" conversation, however, especially over food. Pleasing Thor had become a priority, whether he wanted to put it that way or not. Consuming genuine sustenance and playing nice with the little brother simultaneously was just efficiently used time.

Comments

[st_ratagem]

Bo had definitely been interesting. The little girl Annie had been entertaining. But, “Not a one,” was the answer as Loki stood up as well, after making sure that he’d marked his place in his current book.

It wasn’t ethics. He’d actually chuckled for a full minute at the ‘medical ethics’ text he’d found in his pile and promptly returned it to the library. Simpler than that, he’d promised to keep the secrets of both. So he would, until it was more beneficial not to.

The only other interesting thing was cutting and then healing Thor, and that was... more personal than he cared to get. “Unless you count my brother’s lover stalking me, of course.”

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

"Visiting counts as stalking these days? I'll have to be careful." Spinning on his heel, Tony thought.

Lurking around the victim's workplace? He hung around for half an hour at most, and he wasn't exactly sneaky about it. Watching the victim? If anything, that went the other way around with the cat business. Giving inappropriate gifts? Tony was insistent on the lunch but it wasn't a gift and Loki had already said it was fine repeatedly. Well, maybe the wine was pretty unexpected...

The aggressive behavior was already right out. Tony was specifically not treading that path. Giving a heartfelt death threat wasn't all that satisfying when the "victim" just giggled at you.

"If you really hated it, you could just poke my third eye and make me believe I was an impala or something."

[st_ratagem]

"I didn't say I hated it. You asked for interesting clinic stories, and you're the only one who might qualify." Loki folded his hands behind his back; always an ambiguous gesture, which was why he enjoyed it. On the one hand, no threat. On the other hand, as soon as you couldn't see his hands the question always became what's he doing with his hands. "If I hated it, believe me, I'd do worse than tweak your self-image."

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

Glancing back, the way the gooseflesh rose on the back of Tony's neck indicated the gesture's effect wasn't lost on him. Even so, showing weakness or suspicion was a clear loss in his own eyes.

"So you don't hate this and you don't hate me." Tony rubbed his nose, clearing a few woolen fibers from his nostrils.

[st_ratagem]

Hah. Got him. Loki smiled his sweetest smile. "Of course not. Why would I?"

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

"You're doing that weird thing with your lips again." Tony gestured at his own as he pushed open the doors that lead back into the greater hotel.

[st_ratagem]

"It's called a smile. I do it a lot, normally." Smiles were useful expressions. Confusing, reassuring, threatening: it was all about context.

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

"All saccharine like that? You look like you're gonna try and sell me Girl Scout cookies." Tony slowed his steps enough to fall more in line with Loki's. "And if I didn't know better, I'd probably buy out the stock."

[st_ratagem]

“That’s the very general idea.” One of them, anyway. Pleasant expressions made nearly anything he said more believable, even when speaking to someone who knew better.

Sometimes especially when, depending what the words were. “Though in this case I’m just practicing, not attempting a sale.”

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

"Practicing...smiling?" Immediately a smirk was cracked, and he invaded the outer walls of Loki's bubble with a gesturing hand. "Someone special you're not trying to scare off at first glance?"

Tony heavily doubted it, but that was practically a requisite question in a situation like this.

[st_ratagem]

“Of course not.” Loki’s tone was almost pure amusement, as from a ridiculous idea. ‘Someone special’, ha! “Practicing maintains the skill, that’s all.”

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

Before long, the familiar gold and red of the Copper Cafe was greeting them. Particularly bright with the sun high in the sky filtering through the broad windows. Tony was glad he wasn't hungover.

"Why not take it further?"

[st_ratagem]

“I do practice laughing.” That wasn’t what the man had meant and Loki knew it. But a little willful density was more interesting than a real response. “Not as often, though. It’s not as useful.”

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

"You could do something pretty crazy with a smile as nice as that." Tony shrugged, finding his usual seat at the counter. A face-to-face exchange in an enclosed booth wasn't even a scenario that Tony wanted to force.

"Like make me believe we're actually friends."

[st_ratagem]

The smile turned somewhat pitying for a moment, behind Stark’s back, then Loki took the seat next to him. “So easy! Sadly, I don’t do ‘friends’. I never have.”

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

"But you'll do adoptions." 'In more than one sense.' Today was a practice in keeping certain remarks to himself.

"You got me hook, line, and sinker with that one."

[st_ratagem]

“People generally believe what they see.” Loki shrugged slightly, then offered, “I wanted to keep an eye on my brother, but he’d have spotted me.” And had, instantly. “You were a good vantage point. I put in the effort.”

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

"You made a decent cat. Infuriating, but cute enough that I didn't bag you up and toss you in a river. Gave just enough affection to lead me on a string." Tony flipped open the menu. Just ordering coffee and picking at a croissant wasn't enough.

"And zero of that was for anything other than practicality."

[st_ratagem]

“I’d have thought that would be a relief.” Surely being a means to an end was better than having to deal with fondness from someone you loathed?

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

"Was it?"

Tony slid the menu over, tapping the designated item for Loki to see. "This right here, Eggs Benny? New York creation. Wars have been waged over who masterminded its creation. Rumor has it that it was created by a stock broker looking for a hangover cure. 'Buttered toast, poached eggs, crisp bacon, and a hooker of hollandaise.' Mankind's glory, achieved after praying to the porcelain gods."

[st_ratagem]

“A relief? You’d know better than me.” More willful obtuseness, but explaining would take longer.

Loki looked at the menu, willing enough. “It seems like the kind of thing someone looking for a hangover cure would create, yes.”

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

"It wasn't." Tony flipped the menu closed, promptly putting in the order for the two of them.

[st_ratagem]

“You’d honestly rather I was fond of you?” Loki didn’t bother to hide the note of incredulity in his voice. It was nonsense.

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

"You say that like I should be worried about what that entails. I don't think there's any, I dunno, weird Asgardian affection rituals if Thor's anything to go by." Tony unconsciously rubbed at his shoulder. "Spine-crushing hugs aside."

[st_ratagem]

"He is enthusiastic." The best response to Stark, along the lines of ask my brother how well having my affection has worked for him was a non-starter on several levels.

But the spine-cracking hugs were a constant, at least whenever Thor forgot that was how thunder gods ended up stabbed. "No worry required. I'm just surprised."