"(Y/N), I swear to god, I am going to kill you."

"I've heard that before, and I'm still here," you laughed, tears running down your face as you ran down the hall away from Natasha's room.

Tony was preparing his second pot of coffee in the kitchen, sighing and shaking his head as he heard the commotion on the level above. Bruce chuckled quietly and wondered to himself what glorious prank you had concocted this time, knowing that Halloween was when your skills at pranking your teammates could really shine.

"You know, the ultimate prank might actually be when Nat kills her," Steve mumbled, still not awake enough for so much racket. "I might just help her with that."

"You're just pissed because she got you yesterday."

Steve leaned forward on the table and held his head in his hands, groaning as he remembered the day before. "But why spiders? She knows that I hate spiders."

You ran into the kitchen, grabbing Tony and spinning him around to use him as a shield, guarding you from the raging assassin that followed, and was holding what appeared to be a head in her hand. "Hey, Romanoff, we aren't supposed to bring work home, remember?" Tony snickered as he glanced back over his shoulder at you.

"Funny, Stark," she huffed, her pajamas disheveled and her hair messed and hanging in her face. "But I'm gonna guess that you'll respond about the same when you wake up to a severed head on the pillow next to you."

"Nah," he scoffed, "I've actually woken up to worse."

~~~

"Your Miss Romanoff must be a challenge to trick, is she not?" Loki asked.

"Sure, but it's worth it. It just takes a little research, timing, and dedication to the craft," you smirked.

The only time you could meet with your unlikely friend was when the team was out on a mission that didn't require you, since they were sure to not like your choice in companions. After the battle of New York, no matter how many times he tried to find exoneration, they would always hold him in a negative regard.

Once the group had finally left, you had grabbed a beer from the bar and made your way to the roof, knowing he would already be there and waiting for you. It was quickly becoming the highlight of many of your days to see him. The two of you had a fast rapport and became close friends; something he was in desperate need of after everything that had happened there.

"I'm impressed, (Y/N), you definitely have tenacity and a bit of bravery to risk death all in the name of a joke."

"I'm even more brave to be hanging out with you, I think. Your brother wouldn't like it too much, I imagine. He's oddly protective of me, and I think he has an idea that we've been spending time together."

He sat quietly for a moment, his eyes beginning to look sad and introspective, "am I really such a threat that he would worry? Am I a threat to you, (Y/N)?"

"No," you replied quickly, "if you were, why would I be sitting on the roof of one of the tallest buildings in the city with you? I think that maybe everyone needs to see that once and for all."

Loki laughed and looked at you with a mischievous grin, "then perhaps this 'Halloween' that you talk so much of should be our greatest collaboration, my dear. I'm a fan of trickery myself, if you hadn't noticed."

"Believe me, Loki" you huffed, "we've all noticed." You leaned back against the wall and took a long drink of your beer, pausing to look at him when you felt his stare. "Okay, so what do you have in mind, my favorite troublemaker? I'm in."

~~~

When the team had returned, Nick and Maria had joined them and they were all now gathered in the conference room for the mission debriefing. Normally having the two of them here meant trouble, and you had a moment of anxiety as you reached for the door. You had received an urgent message from Steve to join in, but knowing that each of them had been a direct recipient of their own prank over the past several days, you approached with caution.

"Hey, guys. Nice to see you back so soon," you said as you took your usual chair next to Natasha, grabbing the information from the table and beginning your review. When no one responded, you paused and looked to each of them as they averted their eyes.

"What's going on?" When your eyes reached Bruce's seat, you noticed for the first time that it was empty. "Where's Banner?"

Nick took a deep breath and leaned back in his chair, "That's what we wanted to discuss, (Y/N). Things didn't go as well as we would have hoped."

Even as he spoke, Fury wouldn't make eye contact with you. In fact, no one had. You closed your eyes and listened to the sounds in the room, shutting out their breathing, the shuffling of papers, the sounds of ventilation, and the maddening tapping of Steve's pen against the arm of his chair. You opened your eyes again and leaned back, pushing your own chair away so that you were a few feet from the table. You glanced quickly beneath it and saw the shadow of what you were looking for.

"Is that why he's hiding under the table? Is he scared?"

Tony groaned and threw his tablet down with a hard thud. "How the hell do you do that? I told you guys that he should've stayed in his room."

"Okay," you sighed, "so now that we have that out of the way, let's get to the real discussion, shall we? I need help with something that I think you'll want to be a part of."

~~~

Your small victory over the team's sad attempt to prank you had come too easily and you were more eager than ever to plan the ultimate prank. It had taken a few days of research and a little extra help, but you were finally ready to enact the plan. Loki had become intrigued by the magic of a Midgardian Halloween, finding the darkness of it comfortable and oddly familiar, so you had chosen what you believed to be the perfect spell.

"A zombie?" he questioned, "the undead, walking amongst you? That sounds rather difficult, (Y/N)."

"We only need one. How hard can that be?" You leaned against the table that held your plans, resting your chin on your hand and looking up at him with your best pleading expression and wide eyes that you knew he couldn't resist. He smiled back, his own expression softening under your gaze.

"For you, I will find a way."

~~~

Within a few short hours, the tower was under a full-blown attack of the undead and the team was close to being overtaken. The group had split up to cover each floor, but you had insisted as being the one to stay at Loki's side and make sure he didn't cause any further trouble.

"This has gotten a little out of hand! You need to stop this now, Loki, before we lose control completely!" You spun and impaled one of the zombies through the chest, holding it to the ground to decapitate it. "I think your prank took a wrong turn somewhere!"

"Yes, I can see that, (Y/N), thank you." He looked around frantically for his brother, hoping that he might have a way to help. "I may have over-indulged slightly; I wanted to get you with your own prank. However, the reversal is a bit more complicated than I had planned."

"Why...didn't you...think...of that before?" you asked, grunting between each word while fighting off multiple attacks and doing your best to stay at his side. "This is...why no one...trusts you!"

"Even you?"

"Now...is not the time, Loki. Not the time." You heard a yell from one of the floors above and turned to look, leaving your back unguarded and open to attack. You screamed when you felt the bite, but turned to slice the head away from the body of the one that had done it. "Son of a-"

Loki spun around when he heard your scream and ran to your side. "How do I stop this?" He said frantically, "how do I do it?"

"Cut it off, before it starts to spread," you gasped.

"What did you say?"

"It's the only way, Loki. You have to remove my hand to stop it. I can't do it myself."

He looked at you with shock, but his eyes were filled with desperation. "I can't do it either, (Y/N). I...can't hurt you."

"But a zombie version of me is better?" you gasped.

"I can't...I love you."

You stared at him in disbelief, holding your breath at his words. That was definitely not what you were expecting him to say, and you lost your train of thought, completely shocked.

"I love you, too," you whispered, still staring at him. You grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him down to you for a kiss, feeling him relax and wrap his arms behind you.

"JARVIS," you said as you pulled back, "we can stop now."

The attack was over as quickly as it had begun, the threats disappearing into thin air. Thor leaned over the railing from the level above, looking down on the two of you with a smile and a loud laugh. "Did we do well, my lady?"

Loki looked down at you, not understanding what had just happened. "You are not injured then? All of that wasn't real? I'm not at fault for any of it?"

"Don't ever think you can prank me, Asgardian," you smirked. "I'm the master."