Chapter Text
Loki stretches with a soft groan. The movie wasn’t bad, though not as thought-provoking or exciting as Tony had made it out to be before they made a pact to watch all the Star Wars movies together. It was a crime against humanity, apparently, that Loki had yet to see at least one of them after all the time they had spent together on Midgard.
A soft grunt to his left has Loki turning his head. The bowl of popcorn, now tipped on its side, partially hides a small, lithe body from view. Loki watches with a fond sort of expression as the little creature wriggles his way between the cushions of the couch. His scaled tail, nearly five inches in length and coming to a delicately tapered point, whips the air as he claws deeper and deeper, sharp talons popping through the couch’s grey cloth. After a few moments of whooshing and quiet ripping, the tail droops in apparent dismay and Loki, the quirk of his lip the only indication of his growing amusement, asks the small dragon, “And what are you searching for this time, Anthony?”
Instead of responding, Tony just sinks farther into the depths of the cushions until only the golden tip of his tail remains visible. Smiling, Loki flicks it until it, too, disappears. He leans over and peers into the crease, but the cushions had already sealed shut. Tony would have been completely hidden if not for the obvious bump he made as he frantically bounced around every dip, corner, and crevice of the couch.
“You know I can’t help you find what you’re looking for if you don’t at least tell me what you’re looking for.”
Tony stills, and Loki can sense the sadness radiating from him even before he pokes his head out from between the cushions. Green eyes meet glistening brown and a sound of anguish escapes Tony as he pulls himself free.
They’re…gone…They’re all gone!
“What’s gone?”
Your gifts – the coins! Gone – gone! Lost, I’ve lost –
Tony’s crimson wings arch and beat the air and smoke billows from his nostrils, tendrils curling around his face to follow along the sharp lines of two deep maroon horns neatly situated on the top of his head. Loki inhales, smelling campfire, and reaches out to place a gentle hand on Tony’s back. Fragile spines press against his palm.
“Be still, Anthony. I know where your coins are, or, at least, I believe I do.”
Tony freezes, looking up at Loki expectantly. Loki’s attempts to maintain a neutral expression under such a gaze fail and a smile spreads across his face as he strokes a thumb over Tony’s warm cheek.
“Bruce mentioned this morning that he had felt something lumpy in the couch and that he took care of it.” Loki laughs. “I didn’t know you kept your coins here, otherwise I would have told him to leave them. Here.”
Tony leans into Loki’s touch as he speaks but soon begins to practically vibrate as Loki conjures up a decorative bowl filled to the brim with ancient Asgardian coins. Their glow, reflecting a Bifrost of color in the depths of Tony’s dark eyes, is soon smothered by the dragon’s scarlet body as Tony curls up among them, wriggling until his body is fully covered by them. Loki carefully settles the bowl, and Tony, in his lap and smiles as Tony starts to purr. Petting his horns and picking up the remote, Loki asks, “Now that you’re finally settled, do we have to watch episode V or can we watch the Great British Bake Off?”