Disclaimer : Nothing's mine.

This is not beta-ed yet. But it will be :)

The prompt was : "Everybody thinks they're sleeping together but they just enjoy frienemy flirting; things get confusing when folks accept their relationship"

In Which Some Might Say The Trickster is Tricked

Tony Stark knew about awkwardness. Hell, he was Iron Man ! One of the most brilliant minds he worked with could become a big green thing in a few seconds. His best friend was a man who had seen the war and yet seemed younger than Tony and could probably lift an elephant if he wanted to – but Tony doubted the idea would ever come to his mind. He had seen a couple of professional assassins with cold heart make out in his kitchen – something he was not fond of remembering, thank you very much. And he was acquainted with Norse Gods.

It was their fault, Tony mused as he poured himself a cup of coffee – right next to the spot he had found Clint and Natasha doing things they shouldn't have done together because they were bloody murderers, not teenagers in school uniform. It had all started because of Thor, really. The Golden Boy with the big heart had suddenly decided that his brother was not so evil after all. He had managed to convince his father (Father of All, All Father, whatever) that Loki would find redemption by helping the Avengers. So, Odin, as the father of everything in the universe (not his father as far as Tony was concerned), came to Earth and assured Nick Fury that Loki would be a nice boy. Tony didn't remember a lot of this day, except for the smug smile on Loki's face – Once a Trickster, Always a Trickster – and the face of Odin-Father-of-you-get-it. Damn, the man just looked like Anthony Hopkins – except for the fact that he was missing an eye.

Anyway, Nick Fury gave in (because you just don't want to piss off a guy like Odin) and Loki was on Earth again.

And then it was even more awkward. Loki wasn't nice, of course. That would have been disturbing. But Thor was (disturbing, not nice). He was always smiling, and then when Loki was around he would, at some point, try to hug him – okay, that was disturbing, but the look on Loki's face was worth it. Thor's behavior should have rung bells in Tony's head when things started to go downhill. It should have, really. But we'll get there. Anyway, with bad guys everywhere, Loki was quite useful. And smart, and fun, though Tony didn't admit it at first. Loki could understand whatever stuff Tony was working on – that was a nice change, since his brother was not the kind of man you could ask for help if you had trouble finding the answer to 2+2. And Loki could dye Natasha's hair blue and still be alive the day after – this was a glorious day, by the way, and Natasha actually looked quite sexy with blue hair.

But Loki was still Loki. Which means he was always pushing Tony's buttons, which was by no means agreeable – even though, according to Thor, it meant Loki actually liked Tony.

Creepy.

Tony took that as a challenge, and it became entertaining, for everybody. Loki was the master of pranks and everything sneaky, but Tony liked to think he was not bad himself.

It was awkward, right ? When you live with so many strange people, it is awkward. But you get used to it. No, no, things got awkward, then, like awkwardawkwardawkward. AWKWARD. People started whispering things, stupid things. They would see Loki come out of Tony's room while Tony was under the shower and they would whisper about the two of them when, really, all Loki did was throwing Tony's stuff away so Tony had to walk around the place totally naked until Captain gave him clothes – how old was Loki, already ?

They whispered and whispered and laughed and Loki didn't seem bothered. And then, one day, Steve told him "I need to talk to you", and that very sentence led directly to Tony's current situation : hiding from Thor with maximum security around the place.

Steve needed to talk – apparently, since he had known his father, he thought that it was up to him to give Tony The Talk. And Steve being Steve, he went on about how dangerous it was to do that kind of things unprotected, and with a God, and – really, a God ? - and of course he didn't let Tony say anything. If Tony could have talked, he wouldn't fear for his life right now. Because, naturally, Thor had to enter the room while they were having The Talk. Which basically led to Thor yelling "YOU MAN WITHOUT HONOR CANNOT BED MY BROTHER, CANNOT TAKE HIS VIRTUE, THAT WON'T DO, I WON'T LET IT HAPPEN ANYMORE, TONY STARK" and some other things – Thor is a fast learner when it comes to modern dirty words.

The thing is … Well, obviously, Tony and Loki didn't sleep together. They didn't really, and, since Tony had finished his coffee and felt a bit foolish, he was going to explain it to Thor straight away because, honestly, he didn't want to be chased by an angry Norse God anymore. But then, Natasha sat in front of him, eyebrows so high on her forehead they seemed to be ready to fly, and she said :

-We need to talk.

Oh God. Really ?

Tony nodded and Natasha crossed her legs.

-So … How's Loki in bed ?

-Are you kidding me ?

She didn't smile – because she didn't do such things as smiling. But it looked just like it. Her eyebrows raised a little bit more and she added :

-Come on, Casanova …

-I can't believe I'm talking about that with you.

-Don't be shy, Anthony-dear. If you really want us to believe that there's nothing going on between the two of you, you should stop with the flirting.

-The flirting ?

Okay, this one was a bit forced. She was right, there was a lot of flirting.

At first, it was simply about bantering and having the upper hand. Loki was challenging and sneaky. This is what led to their first mission together. Loki had to introduce himself as Tony's assistant to one of Tony's business partner, in order to charm him and pretend to betray Tony for him. Tony quickly noticed the looks Loki's suit earned him. Both male and female eyes were devouring him. And for Tony, it appeared as a new challenge. So … Yeah, they were messing around a little bit. There was always a sneaky comment, a raised and challenging eyebrow, a smirk. Sometimes, their bodies were a bit too close to each other, and Tony could feel Loki's body heat, could feel his ghosty breath on his skin. Sometimes, one's hand lingered a bit too much on the other's body. They were flirting, testing the limits of what could be done and what could not. But they had never crossed the line.

Tony had thought about it, of course, but not that much – until they all started talking about it. The idea was deep in Tony's mind, now, and he would wake up in the morning, panting and sweating, Loki's moans ringing in his ears.

-Listen, I'm not … Tony started.

-You have to stop hiding like a little girl and speak with Thor.

-Come on ! He's going to crush my head with his hammer and then eat it for breakfast !

Natasha snorted and got up. Before she exited the room, she added :

-Grow a pair, Tony.

OOO

Thor found him, in the end. In what he thought was going to be the last minutes of his life, Tony wished he had actually slept with Loki.

And the, Thor killed him – but not in the way Tony expected. He opened his arms, and clapped on his left shoulder – and it hurt. And he laughed – a lot and said :

-Even you are easy to fool, Tony Starkson.

-Stark, he corrected.

Wait … What ?

-Of course you can sleep with my brother ! He is no pure maid waiting to be wed.

-You were joking ?

No. No.

-I was indeed. It was very entertaining, but I must not torture you further, for I fear my brother's wrath. Go to him, Tony Starkson …

-Stark.

-... He is waiting.

He left, just like that, and if it weren't confusing enough, the smiling faces of the Avengers appeared through the open door, and Clint even told him :

-Nailing a God … That would request a high-five, Stark.

OOO

When Tony join Loki in his room and told him the story, the bastard just laughed his ass off.

-Seriously, Loki, what are we going to do ?

The God looked at him as if he were the stupidest thing he had ever seen.

-We are going to play their game, of course !

-Play their … You mean …

-They are obviously trying to fool with you. They don't honestly think we are together. They can't honestly think I would make you happy. Or they are even more stupid and naïve than I ever thought someone could be.

Tony agreed on this one. He said :

-So … As soon as they see us in a compromising position …

The Trickster's eyes sparked in a way that would have made Tony run and hide if it had been directed against him. He whispered :

-Natasha is coming.

And then Loki kissed him and … Oh … Oh

Good.

Very interesting.

Where did he learn to do that with his tongue ?

They were just making out like teenagers and … Wait. No, teenagers didn't put their hands there when they were making out – at least Tony hoped so because it would crush his innocence.

Tony found Loki's belt and undid it and suddenly they were both on the bed and Tony never thought that playing a prank to their friends would be so pleasant.

The blood was pounding in his ears but he heard the door open nonetheless and then Natasha squealed – yes, just like a fangirl. She screamed something like and suddenly everybody was here trying to enter the room – and Clint even said "get a room" which was stupid because they were actually already in a bloody room – and that's when Tony just realized they were happy and proud as if they had just set all this up.

-So they really are the stupidest people I've ever met, Loki muttered, eyes dark and full of – oh.

And then, the door was closed and Clint screamed :

-I hope you know where to put it, Stark !