𝔸𝕤 𝕝𝕠𝕟𝕘 𝕒𝕤 𝕀 𝕙𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕪𝕠𝕦

Chapter 12

Stephen was halfway up a ladder with both his hands wrist deep in books when Loki entered the library.

"Where are you, you idiot- " he began, and broke off, staring at Stephen.

It wasn't the most flattering position he could possibly be in, with his leg stretched out behind him for balance while his cloak fluttered out around his shoulders and messed with his hair every few seconds, but that hardly explained Loki's expression.

"I..." Loki had flushed all over, crimson spreading up from his collar to his face. His eyes were green and very wide, and he was looking anywhere but Stephen, who imagined he looked pretty ridiculous for Loki not to meet his eyes.

"Steve asked me to tell you that we're sorting out the finer details of the plan at the circle during break," he said. Then he turned around and left the room hurriedly.

Stephen blinked and looked down at himself. It wasn't even as if he was wearing anything different to what he had been wearing yesterday- his robes, ankle high books- oh shit.

He was wearing a pair of shorts and a long sleeved top with a ribbon cinched across his waist, which usually wouldn't bother him, except what he was wearing was two sizes too small. It practically clung to his chest and hips. There was something about the clothing that made him look not like a sorcerer, like he should look, but... Undressed.

Distantly, Stephen wondered how he'd even put on such skintight clothes without realising. Surely he hadn't been in such a distracted state in the morning that he wasn't aware of what clothes he was putting on.

Thankfully, Levi seemed to notice Stephen's discomfort, flattening himself down past his shoulders and knees. Stephen laughed as Levi gave his hair another tousle before he did so, his curls falling into his eyes and fringing the sides of his head.

"Thanks, buddy." He stroked the fabric affectionately, wishing he could change his clothes in a snap of the fingers like Loki could. Of course, he could simply teleport new clothes from the sanctum, but that involved putting up wards so the Ancient One wouldn't be notified about magic disturbances and going through the rest of the morning without his regular clothes.

Which, having already seen Loki's reaction, wasn't entirely preferable.

"Stephen?"

A gentle voice broke Stephen out of his nonsensical thoughts, and he looked down, seeing Loki with a tentative hand on the ladder and a plain looking book with a blue binding in his other. Without meaning to, Stephen's hand drifted to Levi's fabric, drawing him closer to his body.

Loki winced. "Sorry about my reaction earlier," he said apologetically. "I can help if you want."

Stephen flushed, darkly. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Loki's eyes widened in realisation, and he lifted both of his hands so that Stephen could see them. "Oh no- not that way- "

Laughing, Stephen stepped off the ladder, trusting Levi to carry him the rest of the way down. "I'm kidding, Lo." Loki shot him a halfhearted glare at that, but Stephen had already moved on. "You need to conserve your seiðr for the mission anyways."

Loki scoffed, leaning back on the bookshelf behind him. It creaked with the extra pressure, but didn't move. "Which means no magic for the next five days?"

Stephen blew out an exasperated breath, which Loki continued to totally ignore, instead bending down to pick up a discarded book on the floor where Stephen had thrown it. "Romance novels?" Loki grinned, holding the book up by a corner.

"I wasn't getting them for myself," Stephen scowled, snatching the book out of Loki's grasp. "They're for Wong. He's been listening to Lady Gaga too much and I wanted to find him something to do instead of annoying me half the time I'm actually at the sanctum- " He abruptly broke off as he realised he was rambling. "Are you laughing at me?"