The twelve tropes of Christmas

Peter enters the tower. Finally. He thought school would never end today and he's been dying to finish his project in Tony's lab. When he enters the elevator, he feels his spider-sense tingle a bit. He sees nothing as he looks around, so he shakes it off as tiredness. The elevator stops halfway. Weird. Usually Friday doesn't let people join his ride.

'Fri?' He's met with silence as the door slowly opens. His sense goes in overdrive as Loki enters the elevator.

A grin is on his lips. 'Well, well. If it isn't Tony's itsy bitsy little intern.'

Peter is frozen to his spot. He's in an elevator with a mass murderer. His fear must've shown, as Loki sighs.

'Don't worry that intelligent brain, tiny mortal. I'm here for Tony, not for you.' The doors close behind him. 'Although you might be excellent leverage, should the need arise.'

Shit. Maybe he can warn Mr. Stark somehow. Peter reaches in his bag for his phone.

Loki grabs his wrists at lightning speed. 'Uh-uh.' He shakes his head. 'Don't make me reconsider your usefulne- woah!'

The elevator skids to an unexpected halt.

'Are we there?' Loki looks a bit green around the gills.

Peter shakes his head. 'I don't think so.'

'Fuck.'

The lights go out. Now would be a good time to text Tony. He grabs his phone. A small whimper makes Peter hesitate. Instead of texting, he turns on the light on his phone. Loki looks white as a sheet.

'Thank you.' Loki's voice comes out strained.

'Are you okay?' Peter asks.

'No.'

'Oh.' Peter watches Loki's stance. His hands are balled in fists, knuckles turning white. His posture is rigid, his breathing fast. 'Are you- having a panic attack?'

Loki scoffs. Or at least he tries to scoff. It sounds more like a groan. 'I would never do something that earthly.' The elevator shakes a bit, eliciting a small scream from Loki. Peter hears his heartrate speed up even more.

'Mr. Loki? It will be alright. These elevators have several build-in safety precautions. My phone's battery is 95%, so we'll have light for at least a few hours.'

'What if we're here longer than that?' Loki's breath hitches.

'We won't'. Peter tries to sound as reassuringly as he can. 'Besides, can't you just create one of those portal thingies and get out of here?'

A small shake of Loki's head shows him the answer.

'Why not?'

Loki sighs, still moving at a bare minimum. 'That's why I'm here.' He doesn't elaborate.

‘We'll just try the emergency button, okay?’ Peter presses it. Nothing happens. He checks his phone. No reception. Fuck. There must be some sort of safety protocol in action. Realization hits him. He's stuck in an elevator, with a bad guy, no suit, no way out. He draws in a steadying breath. He tries to pry open the elevator's doors, but it's difficult without using his strength. He glances back to see if Loki's looking, to find his eyes glued to his every movement. Using a tiny amount of his power, he manages to open the door slightly. A wall is staring at them. 'Fuck.' he mutters.

'That's not good, is it?' Loki looks like he will faint any second.

Peter knows he just should leave Loki to his own devices, but he can't. 'Mr. Loki? You'd better sit down.'

'Trust me, young intern, I'd love to do that. But I don't know how.'

Peter walks over and holds out his hand. 'Peter. The name is Peter.'

Loki looks at his extended hand frozen. 'Do not think I forgot my manners, Peter, I'm just physically unable to shake your hand.'

Peter smiles. 'Don't worry, Mr. Loki. I'll help. Is it okay if I touch you?' Loki hums something that sounds like consent. Peter slowly grabs Loki's armpits and lowers him into a sitting position. It's difficult, as Loki's stance is extremely rigid and he doesn't want to use too much of his powers, but he manages. He carefully helps Loki lean against the elevator's wall.

'Thank you, young Peter.' He sounds genuinely relieved to be sitting.

Peter sits cross-legged on the other side of the elevator. 'We'd better wait now.'

'I do not particularly excel at that.'

Peter grins. 'Me neither.' They sit in silence for a while. Peter's phone is on the floor, beaming its light upwards. It gives the elevator an eerie look. 'Mr. Loki? Maybe we should talk a bit? To kill the time?'

‘Yes. As you know I’m rather adept at killing.’ Loki looks sad at that. 'I am certain you have something to say about me massacring all those people.'

Peter frowns. 'No? Not what I had in mind at all. Doesn't seem like a subject to help calm us down?'

Loki smiles bitterly. 'That might be wise. I could not tell you why I did what I did anyhow.'

'Could not or won't?' Peter bites his lip as the words topple out.

'Could. I-' Loki sighs. 'I came here to talk to Stark about this.'

'Well, as we're waiting, you might as well tell me. What happened, Mr. Loki? If you want to tell me, that is.' Peter adds as an afterthought.

Loki searches his face. Peter feels his cheeks heat up from the scrutiny, but holds his gaze. 'Hmm. Yes. That might be advisable.' Loki flexes his hands a few times, before resuming. 'What I am about to disclose might sound... fantastic? But I assure you it happened.'

Peter nods. 'Don't worry, Mr. Loki. I've seen a lot of shit since I'm working here.' And since I'm Spider-Manning, but he doesn't need to know thát, Peter adds in his mind.

'It started when I fell off the bifröst, I was so alone. It was… worse than everything I’ve ever been put through. When I saw Thanos...' Loki shudders. 'I'm sorry, young Peter. I think I cannot talk about this.'

And doesn’t Peter understand that sentiment. Thanos, who blipped him and almost had cost him Tony. 'Don't worry, Mr. Loki. I could tell you about a project I'm working on instead?'

Loki looks relieved. 'Please.'

Peter starts telling him about the latest things he crafted. Loki listens with interest, asking him the right questions at the right moments. Peter is pleasantly surprised at the God's interest and his sharp brain. 'I started working on a scanner that can diagnose cancer within minutes. Cancer is an earth disease, where our cells malfunction and transform into cancer cells.'

Loki nods. 'I've seen it happen. On Asgard we’ve been trying to help find a cure, ever since what happened to Lady Thor.’

'You have?' Peter's eyes widen. 'Please, tell me all about it!'

Loki smiles. 'Eager for knowledge, are you? If we get out of here, I'll show you.'

'When, Mr. Loki. It's not a question of if, but when.' He looks at his watch and notices an hour has passed. Huh, he didn't even notice, engulfed in their discussion. He sees Loki tense again. 'I'd best continue, right?'

Loki nods, relieve showing on his face. 'Thank you.'

'Well, when I started working on it, I needed to do some testing, so I asked several co-workers. Clint - you know, our archer - volunteered.'

Loki smirks. 'We're acquainted, yes.'

Oh shit, of course he is. Peter wants to slam his head into the wall, but soldiers on. 'When I tested it on him, I found a strange green substance covering his brains.'

Loki's eyes flick up to Peter's. 'What was it?'

'I didn't know at first, but when another test showed the greenish substance, I went through all available information. I searched for similarities between Clint and our other subject. Both of them had been into close contact with Thanos. I found-'

'They were mind-controlled?'

Peter's jaw drops. 'How did you... Oh, fuck. Mr. Loki. Did this happen to you too?'

The look that fleets over the God's face tells him all he needs to know.

'I'm so sorry.'

Loki nods in acknowledgement, a sad grimace on his face.

'But why didn't you tell?'

'I tried, young Peter. I tried. But I already was the villain in this story, wasn't I? And it has been my own doing. When you have a silver tongue, people won't believe you when you're telling the truth.'

'True, but you have to at least listen to them.'

'That would've been hard, as they tried to kill me every time I tried to talk to them.'

Peter's face lights up. 'But now we can use my machine! Oh.. They'd still try to shoot you on sight, wouldn't they?'

'Unfortunately.'

'Couldn't Thor help us?'

'Hah.' Loki scoffs. 'No, thank you. Let us leave my daft brother out of this.'

'Is the mind control thing the reason you can't use your magic?'

Loki reddens. Peter thinks it's a trick of light first, but he actually blushes. 'If you ever tell anyone what I am about to disclose, I'll take you apart limb by limb.'

'Geez, Mr. Loki. You can just ask nicely. I would never spill someone else's secrets.'

'I... I shut out my magic voluntarily. I did not want to... hurt... any more people.'

'Awww... Mr. Loki! That's nothing to be ashamed of.'

Loki looks away. 'It is when you've spend the biggest part of your life resenting the earthlings.'

Peter smiles inwardly. 'It sounds like a good thing, Mr. Loki. You reforming your believes. I'm proud of you.'

Loki smiles awkwardly. 'Thank you, Peter.'

'See! It's not difficult to be polite and kind. You came here because you thought Mr. Stark could help you, right?'

'It hurts me to admit that is indeed the case. I came looking for the cleverest brain for help. But I guess I was wrong.'

'Mr. Stark is very clever, Mr. Loki. I'm sure he will help you.' Peter isn't 100% sure, but he will mediate if it's needed.

'Not what I meant, young Peter. I think I already found the cleverest brain.'

'Oh.' Peter blushes. 'Thank you.'

They both jump up when Peter's phone rings. Not wanting to turn off the light, he picks up and puts it on speaker.

'Peter!' Tony sounds worried. ‘It’s a lab day today, isn’t it?’

'Hello, Mr. Stark.'

'Don't come to the tower. We're being invaded by Loki.'

'I know.'

'He's shut down Frida- What do you mean, you know?'

'I'm currently in an elevator with him.'

'Hello, Stark.' Loki chimes in. 'Nice little intern you've got.'

'You hurt him, Loki, you're a dead man.' Tony growls.

'Mr. Stark, if Mr. Loki wanted me dead, I wouldn't be picking up this phone right now, would I? We've been stuck for over two hours now.'

Tony is quiet.

'I won't hurt him if you help me.' Loki sounds dangerous.

'Mr. Loki!' Peter berates him. 'What did I tell you about asking nicely? Try again.'

Loki sighs. 'Stark, I need... Damn, I can't get this out of my throat.'

Peter looks sternly at him.

'Okay, okay. That intern of yours is something, isn't he, Stark?' Loki sounds amused.

Tony snorts. 'Yeah, he is.'

'Stark, did Peter tell you about that green stuff in the archer's head?'

'Yeah?' Tony sounds suspicious.

'I think you would find it in my head too.'

'Fuck.' Tony sounds earnest. 'Really?'

'I think so too, Mr. Stark.'

'Triple fuck. Which elevator?'

'Second one. Stuck somewhere around the 80th.' Peter answers.

'Stay there. I'm coming to get you.'

Within minutes, the elevator’s light flick back on. Loki looks relieved, until the movement of the elevator swipes it off his face. His hand grabs Peter's, clutching it in horror. The elevator slowly resumes its path up. It’s a weird look, as the doors are still slightly open.

‘Don’t worry, Mr. Loki. This is normal. We can’t get off the elevator if it’s between floors.’

’i know.’ Loki hisses through his teeth. ‘Still scared.’

Peter is glad it's only a few floors, as Loki’s grip on his hand is brutal. He counts the floors he sees through the cracks. 89, 90, 91. The elevator slows. Damn, he was close in his guess which floor they were.

Tony is waiting for them when the elevator stops and opens, Happy and some guards are with him. ‘Loki.’ He sounds wary.

’Stark.’ He spits the name like vitriol.

’Manners, Mr. Loki, Mr. Stark.’ He squeezes Loki’s hand in what he hopes is an encouraging gesture.

’Thank you for helping me.’ Loki manages to sound formal through his gritted teeth.

’You look like shit.’ Tony says.

’Why, thank you. May I remind you who’s going to be dead in 50 something years?’ Loki bites back.

Peter feels himself tense, but then Tony barks out a laugh.

’True.’ He holds out his hand to help Loki up. 

Loki looks at it suspiciously, but still grabs it. Tony pulls him up. ‘Thank you. Again.’

Tony nods. ‘Let’s start.’

Peter sets up his device and they start their work. He really hopes they can help Mr. Loki. He’s been through enough, he deserves it. Tony looks at him with a fond smile, as if he can read his thoughts. ‘You did well, kid.’

*

My first draft of this fic was a tad bit sexier, but then I realized: Peter’s in school, so he’s probably a minor. Everyone must write and read whatever they like, but I’m not comfortable with writing underage/of age pairings. Even though Loki is a young God, compared to his fellow Gods (I think his God-age might be close to Peter’s human-age). I tweaked the ending a bit, no sex, no kissing, Peter is almost 18. There’s a bit of flirting and a hint to what’ll happen when Peter is of age.

Please, don’t read if you don’t like this kind of thing or if it triggers you in any way! This ending is rated mature.

*

Ending 2

'Second one. Stuck somewhere around the 80th.' Peter answers.

'Stay there. I'm coming to get you.'

Loki looks at Peter intensely. 'You are a special person, Peter.'

Peter feels his blush intensify.

A small, lopsided smirk forms on Loki's lips. 'Too bad earthlings are so rigid in their believes of right and wrong.'

Peter frowns. 'What do you mean?' He isn't falling for Loki's masterplan, is he? He sounded so genuine.

'I'll tell you when you're legal.‘

Peter's eyebrows shoot up. 'Are you... flirting with me?'

Loki laughs, until the movement of the elevator swipes it off his face. His hand grabs Peter's, clutching it in horror, until the lights flick back on. The elevator slowly resumes its path up. Peter is glad it's only a few floors, as his mind is whirling with what just happened. When the doors open and Tony ushers Loki out, Peter's still a bit shell shocked. Loki. Hmm. He can't deny he hasn't thought of him that way before. He shakes his head and laughs at his own silliness. Loki must've meant something different. He exits too and starts helping Tony set things up.

When Loki's done and Peter rides the elevator down with him and Tony, he's chalked it off to his own hormonal adolescent brain. Loki shakes Tony's hand, thanking him. When he grabs Peter's, he pulls him into a hug. 'Thank you, Peter. For believing in me.'

Peter smiles. 'You're welcome, Mr. Loki.'

'I'll see you when you're of age, Peter.' Loki whispers in his ear. 'That is, if you want me then.’

Peter blushes. ‘Why would you want anything to do with me?’

’I find brains the second best part of the human body. Yours is particularly sexy.’

Peter gulps. ‘What’s the best part?’ he asks, before he can stop himself.

Loki’s gaze travels down, resting at Peter’s crotch area. ‘I think you know.’ He breathes in Peter’s ear, making a shiver tingle down his spine. ‘I’ll see you soon.’ He lets go of Peter's hand and nods at Tony and him, his robes swishing as he turns and leaves.

'What did he tell you?' Tony sounds suspicious.

'He made me a promise, Mr. Stark.'

Tony raises an eyebrow.

'A good promise. Don't worry.' He feels the ghost of Loki's breath on his ear for the remainder of the day. It's a good thing his birthday is in a few weeks.