Avengers x Reader

Circle It (Loki)

Loki was relieved when he noticed your bored expression as Thor bragged about his feats of strength on Asgard. Every flex of his muscles or tale of how some creature or other cowered in fear of him made you want to roll your eyes at his buffoon of a brother.

Clearly you weren't into large brutes, and preferred those with wit and intelligence.

Didn't you?

Sometimes, you seemed to find his quips amusing, making him grow more confident in his ability to woo you. Other times, he noticed how you had to stop your eyes from rolling as soon as he opened his mouth. The same way you did with Thor.

Though he was a changed man, for the most part anyway, there was still a great deal of tension between him and the others. It was bad enough they would refuse to help him if he asked, but he couldn't even intimidate them to since they had beaten him all those years ago.

Well, there was one person he could intimidate.

"Boy!" he barked, making Peter jump.

"Oh, hi Mr. O-... Loki."

"I demand you tell me the secret to knowing a Midgardian's affections."

Peter grew uncomfortable under his glare, but when he processed the words, he was left feeling puzzled. "You want me to tell you how to find out if someone likes you?"

"Yes, child," he huffed in annoyance, "and be quick about it!"

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

You headed back to your room for the night, and heard a soft rustle as you stepped inside. Looking down at your feet, you found a note had been slipped under your door.

Do you like me?

Yes No

- Loki

Overcome with laughter over the pure childishness of it, you waited until you'd calmed down to make your way to Loki's room. You were still grinning when you reached his door, and not wanting to offend him, you forced it away before knocking.

He only opened it a crack, barely enough for him to peek through.

"Hello Loki," you greeted, lifting the note. "Can we talk?"

His only visible eye narrowed. "That idiot boy! He told me you would know to circle your response and slip it back under my door!"

"Hey!" Angry at his outburst, you pushed the door open to reveal him completely. "This is exactly what we need to talk about!"

"The spider boy?"

You rolled your eyes. "Who's the idiot now? No! Your attitude!"

"I beg your pardon?"

"You're an arrogant, condescending jerk sometimes, and if you're serious about this," you gestured to the note again, "you're going to need to dial it back."

He glared at you, but it quickly wavered and he looked away in embarrassment. You really did like Loki, when he wasn't trying to lord his superiority over everyone anyway, so you threw him a lifeline.

"We already know how brilliant you are," you offered. "You don't have to prove it at every opportunity."

"The Iron Man doubts me; challenges me at every turn!" he spat.

"Because he's an arrogant ass. Annoying, isn't it?"

This time, he held his glare as you smirked. Feeling you'd gotten your point across, you excused yourself back to your room, the now forgotten note still clutched in your hand. Chuckling, you slipped it in the drawer of your nightstand and prepared for bed.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

You didn't notice the change in him at first. In fact, you didn't even start paying attention until Vision commented on his behavior a few months later.

He kept quiet when Tony snarked at him, only lashing out when the other man proceeded to goad him. You could see the irritation in his eyes when Thor was being annoying, but he bit his tongue... most of the time. When Clint spilled his juice on him at breakfast, he only called him an idiot and stormed off, muttering under his breath, and returned shortly with a clean outfit.

But it wasn't all that that made you truly appreciate how hard he was trying; it was Peter.

Sweet, jumpy, little Peter could often be seen trailing after the god, adorably chattering about anything from what happened in Tony's lab to the less than exciting happenings at school. All of which Loki seemed to try to listen to. You could see his eyes glaze over at times, but he'd snap himself out of it and hum, or sometimes ask a question, encouraging the boy to continue.

You remembered the note then, and ran to your room, hoping you still had it. It took you an hour of searching before you found it, chuckling again over his having taken Peter's advice. You circled your response, adding a note of your own, and headed toward Loki's room before slipping it under the door.

Inside, Peter stopped speaking abruptly, drawing Loki out of his daydream. They both watched silently as the shadow outside his door disappear. With a shared look, they ran for the slip of paper that was pushed through.

Peter waited anxiously as Loki read and re-read it, hoping the god's face would give him some clue as to what was written on it. Finally, Loki saw him staring and handed the note over, allowing him to read it for himself.

You'd circled 'Yes', and under it, in your writing was,

'Lunch tomorrow 1:30?

Yes No

- Y/N

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

You weren't sure how he did it, but Loki had beaten you to your room. When you walked in, the note was at your feet, the 'Yes' circled several times.