Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

    Loki had been living at the Avengers tower for six months already. On the best days it was dreadfully boring. On the worst, it was just dreadful. The team was wary of him... for admittedly reasonable reasons, but it hadn’t been his fault that he’d been forced to attack the Earth. Ok, at least not entirely his fault. That still didn’t mean his idiot brother and his moronic friends needed to put him on house arrest just because of it. It was insulting.

    The only time he got out of the stupid tower was when they remembered he was useful on missions. It was dull and tedious and annoying. Sure, he played pranks on them, and that livened up the days. As did defenestrating Stark whenever he could and stabbing Thor was always a source of entertainment.

    Plus there was the potion that turned Thor into a frog.

    But Loki was bored

    Bored

     Bored

     Bored

     Bored

     BORED

    Almost no one spoke to him, which was generally fine. The Midgardians were dull creatures, and the team no exception. Though he did maintain a cordial, healthy respect for Lady Natasha. She was frightening. He hated the Hulk and didn’t much care for the doctor whose skin the creature wore.

    On top of all that the team didn’t like or trust him. So he spent most of his time quietly reading and trying to be glad that at least he wasn’t in the cells of Asgard.

    “Brother, are you paying attention?” Thor demanded, pausing in his tirade. Loki rolled his eyes and shut his book. Thor had been lecturing for ten minutes about proper behavior about... something. Loki hadn’t cared, but Thor was demanding an answer.

    So Loki thought through the last few minutes he hadn’t been paying attention to. He rolled his eyes with a huffed sigh. “New team member is coming to visit. A child. And you expect me to be pleasant to it,” Loki recited, still bored. A new team member might be interesting. But a child? Hardly.

    “Yes. You must be polite to Stark’s protege. He is called The Man of Spiders,” Thor said proudly.

    Loki rolled his eyes at the lame name.

    “His name is Spiderman,” Stark corrected, glaring at Loki. Thor deflated that he’d gotten it wrong. He’d tried so hard to get the name right. “Be nice to the kid, better yet, just don’t talk to him. And if you hurt him, I will kick your ass out of this tower, Odin’s orders be damned,” Stark snarled at Loki. Odin had ordered him here to work with Thor’s moronic friends as recompense for the slight against Midgard.

    It was ridiculous since his actions had been under the influence of mind control.

    But very few actually believed him on that point.

    “I have no interest in speaking with the Spider-child,” Loki told them, rolling his eyes. “And I am not heartless enough to harm a child,” he grumbled and returned his attention to his book. Odin’s beard, they couldn’t even trust him enough not to harm a child. He wasn’t a monster for pity’s sake. At least not in that respect.

    He didn’t much pay attention when the teenager entered the common room. Stark’s brat seemed as annoying as any other youngling that age and Loki had no interest in his exuberance and never ending chatter. Especially since the Midgardian wizard had just sent him new texts on magic to read.

    The Midgardian wizard didn’t much like him either, but he did like it when Loki wasn’t causing trouble, and Loki didn’t cause trouble when he had new interesting things to learn. So the wizard lent him interesting books. In exchange Loki didn’t get bored or stabby and homicidal in his direction. It was a fair trade.

    Loki looked up when a shadow fell on his page and started to glare until he noted the jeans, then the t-shirt with the high school name on it, and a hand-me-down flannel shirt over it. It was the kid. He raised an eyebrow at the teen while the rest of the team stared at the impeding interaction in horror. They feared for the child’s safety. The kid didn’t run from him instead he greeted him with a bright “Hi!”

    Loki stood in a fluid graceful motion. This conversation, whatever it was to be, seemed like it was one that required both parties be standing for it. “Can I help you?” he asked the child a bit stiffly, unsure what this exuberant puppy of a teen wanted.

    The kid continued as if Loki hadn’t spoken. “I’m Peter Parker,” he greeted Loki brightly and held out his hand to shake.

    Interesting.

    The child wasn’t afraid of him. Every other Midgardian he’d met had been afraid of him on sight. Loki held out his hand, curious and interested now. “Loki of Asgard,” he replied politely, if a bit cautiously and shook the boy’s hand.

    The boy dropped his hand afterward but not from fear, just because it was the proper length of a handshake. Curiouser and curiouser.

    The kid paused, considered and then his mouth blurted without any input from his brain, but still without fear, more just curiosity. “Aren’t you like…a bad guy?” he asked carefully, cautious, yes, but not afraid. Just respectful of power when he saw it.

    Loki smirked, amused by this child. “It varies from moment to moment,” he replied with a bit of snark and a touch of sarcasm in his dry tone. He watched the youth to gauge his reaction to the words.

    The teen pondered his words, he actually considered them as if they were serious and not flippant and sarcastic. Interesting. “So... like...on a scale of one to ten, ten being the worst evil imaginable, like…killing puppies, and one being I’ll spit on your hotdog…where are you right now?” he asked, curiously.

    It was Loki’s turn to ponder. Whatever he had been expecting, it wasn’t that. Wasn’t that at all. And that was interesting indeed. The rest of the team were watching in horror, sure the kid was about to be stabbed and they were all too far to do anything.

    Loki decided an honest thoughtful question deserved an honest thoughtful answer. “…maybe a three?” he replied, not entirely sure where his current mood fell on the child’s vague scale, but it was a decent guess.

    The kid nodded, accepting that answer. “Cool. Lemme know if it gets above a six,” Peter told him brightly and with a head nod bounced with puppy-like enthusiasm back to chatting excitedly with the others

    I like him Loki thought to himself. Finally finding something in this stupid realm that wasn’t automatically boring.

Chapter Text

    The kid came back the next day. Loki was surprised when the kid looked over to where he was reading when he entered the common room and offered him a bright smile. “Hi, Mr. Loki. What’s the number today?” he asked.

    Number?

    What number?

    Ah, yes. The brat’s silly number game from yesterday.

    Loki shrugged, it was still an amusing game for now, so he’d keep playing it. “Four,” he finally answered. Stark had been rude to him and he wasn’t in the best mood.

    “Cool, you like books right? Have you read Harry Potter yet? It’s all about wizards,” the boy enthused. He seemed to be.. trying to cheer Loki up? Loki was impressed that the kid was actually trying to improve his mood through kindness.

    Loki shook his head. “I have not,” he replied. The boy thought that over and bounced out of the room. Loki shrugged and returned to his book, not sure what the annoyingly hyper kid was up to.

    A few minutes later the boy returned and stood before Loki. “Here, Mr. Loki. Mr. Stark had a copy in his library,” he said and when Loki looked up he saw that the kid had a book in his hands. Loki reached up and took it tentatively. It was the story the boy had mentioned.

    “Thank you,” he told the kid, surprised and touched by the kindness.

    *

    “Hi, Mr. Loki,” the kid greeted him the next day. “What’s the number today?” he asked brightly. Loki was amused by his obsession with his silly number game.

    “Two. I am greatly enjoying this book,” Loki told him with a small, tentative smile, showing him the second of the Harry Potter books.

    The kid lit up in delight. “What part are you at? Who’s your favorite character? What House are you in?-” the kid rambled off questions, which Loki indulged him with answers to and a real smile. Before the kid overstayed his welcome he added “I need to go help Mr. Stark in the lab. I’ll see you later, Mr. Loki!” and bounced off with his puppy-like enthusiasm.

    *

    The kid came by nearly every day. Sometimes it was to help Stark in the lab, sometimes to steal food, sometimes for a bandage or light healing if Loki was in the mood to help, sometimes it was just to stop by and say hi, he was in costume more often than not, seeming to swing by while he was on patrol. He was always pleasant to Loki, though, so Loki didn’t mind the interruptions and came to look forward to the kid’s visits. He also grumbled, but didn’t mind healing the kid, especially since he never askedmuch less demanded to be healed. He never took Loki’s powers for granted, thanked him profusely, and marveled at each use of magic. He also never overstayed his welcome in Loki’s presence and seemed to always consider Loki’s feelings.

    “Hi, Mr. Loki!” Peter greeted him right on time. Loki shut his book and looked up at the kid as he entered the common room.

    “Hello, Spiderling,” Loki replied with a bit of a smirk. The kid didn’t like his superhero name being messed with, but he knew Loki was teasing.

    “What’s the number today?” the kid seemed to gauge his interactions with Loki based on the answer to that question. It was a ritual question by now, though it had started off as a flippant comment.

    “Three,” Loki replied, amused.

    The kid lit up, whatever he wanted to discuss, apparently ‘three’ was an appropriate evil level to bother Loki with it. “Do you know anything about calculus?” he asked. “Mr. Stark is busy and this problem isn’t making any sense,” he dug in his school bag and pulled out a textbook and sheet of homework.

    “Let me see,” Loki replied, touched that the teen would come to him for help. He would also never turn away a young mind who wanted to learn. Loki looked over the material and the question quickly and carefully explained it to the young man and helped him solve the problem that had been troubling him. The team came through later to find Loki and Peter sitting on the floor on opposite sides of the coffee table working on Peter’s homework together.

    They all stared in shock. None of them quite understood how this friendship had come about, but Loki hadn’t hurt the kid and seemed in a better mood because of the friendship.

    *

    The kid came in one day to find Loki pacing the common room, snarling. “Hi, Mr. Loki!” Peter said brightly anyway.

    Loki whirled on him, and only barely controlled his temper, only barely didn’t snap at the kid. “Seven,” he growled the word instead of waiting for Peter to ask. He wasn’t having a good day. He was tired of being cooped up in the tower, tired of Thor, tired of the stupid team getting on his last nerve.

    The kid looked shocked for an instant, then grabbed Loki’s hand and proceeded to haul him from the tower. “C’mon, let me show you the best sandwich shop in the city!” Peter’s enthusiasm broke through some of Loki’s temper and spite.

    He huffed. “Very well,” he finally consented before he ended up dragged. The kid had too much enthusiasm and was much stronger than he appeared, Loki didn’t feel like getting dragged along like a favorite stuffed animal. He used magic to don a perfectly tailored suit before they left; he was not leave the tower looking like a hobo. Peter looked him over and shrugged. He was still in his jeans and t-shirt from school.

    Peter led Loki out of the tower and walked a few blocks away, chatting incessantly about the latest project his best friend was working on (something called the Lego death star which Loki made a note to research later), his classes, the girl he fancied. His incessant chatter should have been annoying, but it was a pleasant reminder instead that there was life outside of the tower.   He grounded Loki to the here and now, and distracted him from the churning, jagged shards of ice in his mind.

    They made it to the sandwich shop and Peter ordered for them, while people stared that the brat was being accompanied by Loki of Asgard. Loki was still famous for the incident with the aliens and since he’d been helping the team, he was in the press almost as often as Thor. Peter pulled out his wallet to pay, but Loki put a hand on the youth’s shoulder. “You are doing me a favor. I shall pay.” Loki put way more cash on the counter than was required for the sandwiches. But he’d stolen it from Stark anyway, so what did it matter?

    People were getting too curious and Loki knew that Peter’s secret identity was important to the kid. He didn’t want his precious Aunt May in danger because he chose to help people. He could see the kid getting nervous that he was drawing too much attention out of costume. “It is a shame that Stark has included entertaining me as part of your internship duties,” Loki said smoothly. Peter looked relieved.

    “It’s no trouble,” the kid beamed up at him and picked up their sandwiches when they were finished. A short time later, the pair were sitting up on a nearby rooftop, watching the people and eating their sandwiches. “Thanks for the help back there,”

    “Your secret identity is important to you,” Loki replied. Peter lit up in delight that Loki remembered how important it was. And Loki found himself surprised that he cared about Stark’s brat and his feelings.

    It was a strange feeling.

    And he found he kind of liked it.

Chapter Text

    Loki felt better for people watching on the roof of the building with Peter while they ate their sandwiches. “The shop really did have good sandwiches,” Loki told Peter as they watched the crowd below. He was impressed that the child had been correct, and more impressed that the Midgardians had acceptable food, especially at such an inexpensive establishment. Loki vanished their trash when they had finished the sandwiches and Peter thanked him profusely while he oohed over Loki’s use of magic. The kid was always impressed anytime Loki performed magic and Loki couldn’t help preening under the praise.

    “STOP! THIEF!” called a woman’s voice from below them. Loki watched as a man went running from her with her handbag, clearly stolen from her. Loki shrugged, but looked concerned when the kid jumped to his feet.

    “What are you doing?” Loki asked him, confused.

    The kid just stared at him as he dove into his costume. “We have to go help that lady!” he told Loki as if that were obvious.

    Loki just looked at him. “But... why? This is not a mission. She is not a member of our team...” helping others just for the sake of helping them was a foreign concept for the god.

    Peter huffed. “Because it’s the right thing to do,” he told Loki emphatically as he pulled his mask over his head. “Now are you coming or not?” Peter demanded and jumped off the roof of the building.

    Loki didn’t want to go. He owed nothing to this woman. But... he couldn’t let the kid rush off to battle alone, even if the battle was against a weak Midgardian thief. He still couldn’t send a child into danger alone, not when he was here. So he sighed heavily and let his battle armor shimmer into place, golden horned helmet included. He wasn’t taking any risks of people not knowing who he was. Or that the kid was under his protection. At least while he was babysitting the kid. How old did Midgardian children needed to be to be outside without supervision. The child was... fifteen? But that meant nothing to the god who was already over a thousand and still considered young.

    So he heaved a sigh and resigned himself to the fact that he was going to have to help the spider child. So he teleported down to the ground, saw where the man was still running and teleported in front of him. He grabbed the thief by the throat and lifted him easily off of the ground. “Return the lady’s bag,” Loki snarled at the man as Peter caught up, landing from one of his webs. The man dropped the bag as he fought to breathe. Loki summoned a dagger so he could speed this along. This was really a lot of trouble and effort just for one Midgardian’s bag...

    “Mr. Loki, no!” Peter called, sounding like a terrified child. Loki tilted his head like a confused puppy and looked over at the kid.

    “No, what? We caught the offender, now we deal with him and move on with our lives,” Loki told the kid, wondering what the problem was.

    “You can’t kill him! He stole a bag, that’s not a killable offense. That’s like a 2 on the evil scale!” Peter protested.

    Loki huffed a sigh and vanished the dagger. This was getting very tedious indeed. It would be so much faster and easier just to kill the man. “Then what do you suggest we do with him?” he asked, gesturing to the man he was still holding by the throat off his feet.

    “Put him down. I’ll bind him up. We’ll leave him for the police with a note and they can deal with him,” Peter insisted, but his voice was calmer since Loki was listening to him.

    Loki rolled his eyes, but held the man against a nearby wall so Peter could web him to the wall. “Are you sure we cannot just kill him? It would be much easier,” Loki grumbled, but didn’t fight with the spider boy and even produced a piece of paper and an elegant feather quill to leave their note for the authorities. He signed it elegantly after he read over Peter’s simple little note saying what the man had done.

    Loki walked with Peter to return the bag to the lady. Loki understood how happy she was to have the bag back, but he didn’t know how to deal with her gratitude. She hugged Peter and would have hugged Loki too for helping, but Peter convinced her that was a bad idea. Lucky lady.

    “We should head back to the tower,” Peter told Loki. “We did our good deed of the day,”

    “Good deed of the day?” Loki asked as they strolled together back to the tower, both still in their battle costumes. It wouldn’t do for either of them to hide as civilians now and Loki wouldn’t risk the kid’s secret identity. He was curious about this foreign concept.

    “It’s an old saying,” Peter enthused, seeming to want to teach Loki how to be nicer to people, which was rankling, but the god was amused, so he let the kid ramble on. “The idea is that if everyone does one nice thing for someone every day, without expecting a reward, then they will be happier for it and the world will be a better place,”

    Loki scoffed and rolled his eyes. That couldn’t be right. And yet... wasn’t his world a little better for being kind to the spider-ling? It was definitely something to think over.

    *

    A couple days later, Loki was sitting on his usual couch with a new recommended book from the spider-ling when the kid appeared. He looked up with a small smile, until he saw that there was a woman with the kid today. She looked angry and Peter was not quite cowered behind her as he walked in, but he was wary of this woman.

    That had Loki’s hackles rising. He didn’t like seeing Peter upset. Peter gave him a small wave to get his attention and held up three fingers. Loki relaxed a little. The kid was ok. He would signal Loki for help if he wasn’t.

    The kid would...come to Loki for help if he was in danger.

    Loki hadn’t quite realized it before, but it came clear to him now. The child felt safe with him. Safe enough to seek his help if he were in danger.

    Peter maybe even... trusted... him.

    Loki’s thoughts were interrupted as the woman stomped over to Tony. “How dare you put Peter in danger!?”

    “Aunt May...” Peter said placatingly. Ah, this was the formidable aunt the kid constantly spoke about.

    “What danger exactly?” Tony asked, hoping the kid’s secret of being Spiderman hadn’t been spoiled.

    “One of Peter’s internship duties is to babysit the former super villain?!?!!!” she demanded with rage and fear in her eyes.

Chapter Text

    Loki smirked and watched with interest as Stark got reamed by the tiny slip of a woman. Stark couldn’t even get a word in edgewise while Aunt May yelled. Stark had made the mistake of letting her get started, now she was just building up steam to keep on her ranting. It took every ounce of self-control Loki had to keep from laughing aloud at the absurdity of this tiny powerless Midgardian woman frightening Shellhead into lack of speech.

    But Peter looked frightened.

    Not of his Aunt, not really, but of the phrase she spoke: “I nevershould have let him take this internship! It ends now-”

    Peter’s eyes went wide and he looked absolutely horrified as he paled. He gave Loki a desperate look. He didn’t want to lose his fake internship. The kid wanted to be an Avenger when he was old enough. He wanted to work with the team and wanted to do good. If he lost his fake internship, then he wouldn’t be able to do that.

    Loki didn’t like seeing the child sad or scared.

    And Peter looked devastated.

    So Loki stood from his place on the couch, setting his book aside as he rose gracefully. His princely court mask fell into place as he glided over to the angry woman. He noted that Peter looked relieved, sure that Loki would fix this, and it touched Loki’s heart that the felt that way. So Loki would fix it. He stood in front of Aunt May, between her and Stark and offered her an elegant court bow.

    That stopped her tirade in its tracks.

    Loki knew how to play this game. And it pleased him to do it, it was an entertaining game. While she was stunned, he lifted her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles, which made her blush at his seemingly chaotic flattering behavior. However, flattering ladies and convincing others to do what he wanted were among his best honed skills. He wasn’t called silver tongue for nothing. “My most sincere apologies, Lady Parker, but I fear there has been some sort of misunderstanding,” Loki said as he dropped Aunt May’s hand. She looked up at him confused and flustered. He wasn’t nearly as crazy and evil as he’d been portrayed, or so it appeared.

    “Misunderstanding? You tried to take over New York!” she protested loudly. She wasn’t giving up that easily. That was alright. Loki liked a bit of a challenge.

    Loki inclined his head and looked repentant and guilty, which stopped May again. She’d been expecting him to argue. “I will not deny that I led the attack. However, my actions were not of my own volition. It is quite the long tale and I will not bore you with the details save for this: my mind was controlled by another. The Avengers freed me of that control and now I work helping them. Yes, I have been spending time in the company of your nephew. He is a bright, studious, young man and asked for help with his studies-”

    “Yes, Aunt May! I told you, Mr. Loki has been helping me with my homework. I told you Mr. Stark won’t let me do any work for the internship until my homework is done and Mr. Loki knows everything!He’s a scholar where he comes from, he’s like a thousand years old, and has been studying all that time!” Peter jumped in to help.

    May whirled at glared at Peter. “Peter! It’s not nice to call someone a thousand years old!” she told him firmly. Peter’s loose tongue occasionally got him in trouble it seemed.

    He flushed and looked at his shoes. “But Aunt May...” he started, but faltered under her glare.

    Loki chuckled, drawing the attention back to himself. He didn’t want the kid in trouble, besides, he was right. “Actually, I am a thousand fifty as of my last nameday. It was an honest mistake on Young Peter’s part,” he added with a smile for Peter, a reassuring smile that everything would be alright.

    “So if you were doing homework why were you out of the tower with him?” May circled back, but seemed slightly placated. Loki wasn’t anything like what she expected. He was kind, polite, and interested in helping a young mind? Maybe the reports hadbeen wrong. Plus the Avengers wouldn’t vouch for him if he was truly evil.

    “Young Peter was hungry after his classes. You know how growing boys are,” Loki added with a shrug and a knowing smile. Of course they both knew how growing boys were bottomless pits. “He wished to go out to his favorite sandwich shop. I thought it best to accompany the young man and make sure there was no trouble. I have heard how dangerous the city can be...” he added with a kind smile.

    “Well if that’s all it is...” May sounded placated. Loki wasn’t what she expected. If he really was just helping the team and helping Peter with his homework... “Then I guess your internship can continue. Provided your classwork doesn’t suffer,” she added the last part to Peter who nodded enthusiastically.

    “It won’t, Aunt May!” he reassured her quickly. She turned her attention back to Loki and Stark. Loki saw Peter’s sigh of relief.

    Some of the rest of the team had come in as well and Stark quickly and loudly collaborated that Loki had been helping Peter with his homework. They all jumped in to agree, especially since the friendship between Peter and Loki was good for both of them. Especially Loki’s homicidal tendencies.

    Loki bowed over May’s hand again before she left. “It was a pleasure to meet you Lady Parker. You need not fear. Your nephew is safe in our care,” he told her warmly with all of the elegance he could muster from his court training. She blushed in reply and murmured something and Loki strode back to his couch while she addressed Stark about something.

    Peter bounced over and actually huggedLoki before he could resume his seat. Loki stiffened, unsure what to do with the teen hugginghim, while the entire team stared at the sight of the very flushed god being hugged by the teen. The tried to hide their looks of concern at the teen’s safety so Aunt May didn’t see it. Loki carefully, very tentatively, wrapped an arm around the kid and clapped his back. That’s how this worked, right? “Thank you somuch, Mr. Loki!” he said brightly, but softly enough that May wouldn’t hear them. “I don’t know what I’d do if Aunt May wouldn’t let me keep my internship!”

    Loki reassured the teen it was no trouble and soon he and his aunt left the tower while Loki spent a long time pondering the interaction and more importantly, the hug from the kid. That was the part he couldn’t understand. Manipulating May had been easy with his princely court manners. Plus it had been fun.

    But the kid?

    The kid had huggedhim.

    He’d appreciated Loki’s help enough to hug him.

    He’d trusted Loki to fix the situation and save him.

    Loki had of course come through for the kid. He found he actually likedthe kid and his company, even his enthusiasm. Even if he wasStark’s brat.

    And maybe the hug wasn’t so bad after all...

    Maybe

Chapter Text

“No, you annoying little arachnid, I am not playing your dumb game with you,” Loki groaned and rolled his eyes at Stark’s brat. He was being particularly annoying today. Loki didn’t actually mind per se the kid’s annoying whining. It was actually amusing.

“Please, Mr. Loki? Please? No one else will play it with me!” the kid whined. It was amazing how comfortable the kid had become with Loki. Comfortable enough to annoy the god without fear of being smiled for it.

Loki huffed and rolled his eyes. “And that is supposed to endear me to want to play the game?” he grumbled at the brat. That was the least enticing thing the kid could have said.

The kid looked at him with big puppy-dog eyes. Loki was quite used to that tactic. Thor used it all the time. He was therefore immune to the effects of the puppy-dog eyes. Loki looked up from his book with a sigh. The kid was looking at him with that pathetic expression still. “Please~~? I’ll let you play as Pikachu- No wait! Thor plays as Pikachu... hmm I know! You’ll love Greninja! He’s super fast-”

Loki held up a hand to stop the tirade and Peter fell silent immediately. He had learned to respect the god’s request for the endless tirades to stop. Sometimes it was the only way Loki could get a word in edgewise. He’d also learned that Loki would stop interacting with him if he annoyed the god too much. So he learned to respect Loki’s signal to stop talking. “You said my idiot brother plays this game?” Loki asked.

“Yes, Mr. Loki! He insists on playing as Pikachu, the little yellow lightning mouse. The team likes playing it as a stress reliever. Sometimes they settle petty arguments over it too. It’s a fighting game-” Peter rambled.

Loki held up his hand again and the kid went silent. “I can fight the oaf?” Peter nodded enthusiastically. Loki reached up for the controller which Peter gleefully handed over. “I do not know how...” Loki trailed off, hating admitting when he didn’t know something. Even if it was something stupid and Midgardian that he didn’t know. Peter grinned a sat beside Loki on the couch. He carefully explained the controls and helped Loki through the first game.

The battle was a heated affair after that.

The game was stupid. It was animated characters fighting each other. And yet. Loki found he loved the silly Midgardian game. He tried out a few different characters and eventually settled on the ninja frog Peter had suggested in the first place. Loki didn’t bother learning the creature’s name.

Loki had a wonderful evening that evening throughly handing Thor’s ass to him in the game. Repeatedly. With much vigor. And glee.

He thanked Peter for showing him the game and it quickly became a staple of life at the tower.

*

Loki was nervous for Peter’s arrival one day. Not just nervous, pacing the living room with hands intertwined picking absently at the left hand, nervous. Loki shouldn’t be nervous. There was no reason to be nervous of the opinion of a Midgardian child. Stark’s brat was no one to be nervous of. The brat’s opinion shouldn’t matter.

Shouldn’t

Shouldn’t

Shouldn’t

And yet. Right now, it seemed Peter’s opinion mattered more than anything. Loki didn’t care if the rest of the Avengers couldn’t accept this. But somehow, somehow it mattered if the young man could.

So Loki paced and fretted and worried.

The elevator doors opened with a ding and Loki whirled to face them as the teen stepped out into the common room. “Hi, Mr. Loki!” he greeted Loki automatically, looking at Loki’s usual spot on the couch. But Loki wasn’t there. Loki was paused in the pacing of the common room, watching Peter’s reaction.

Because Loki wasn’t normal today.

Loki was Lady Loki. She was nearly as tall as her male counterpart, longer hair, a curvy figure. But she was still Loki, just as much as Loki was on any other day. However, Loki was terrified that the kid couldn’t accept this part of her. Wouldn’t understand.

Or would understand and hate her because of it.

But Loki didn’t fit in the male skin today. It itched and grated on her and just wasn’t right. So today she was Lady Loki and that was the skin that fit comfortably.

She picked at her left palm while she watched Peter turn to face her. She kept her court mask firmly in place, determined not to let him see it when his imminent rejection hurt her feelings. It would break her heart for Peter to reject this aspect of her.

She would not cry.

She would not cry.

She could not let the little arachnid see her cry.

It would just make him sad.

Just because he didn’t understand didn’t mean he deserved to be sad.

Instead, he gave Loki his usual bright puppy-like smile. “Sorry, Hi Ms. Loki,” he corrected, accepting Lady Loki in an instant. “What’s the number today?” he asked as tradition dictated.

Lady Loki was ecstatic with a bright relieved smile.

“One,”

Chapter Text

Loki and Peter were sitting on the living room floor one day when the alarm in the tower went off signaling some kind of attack that the Avengers were needed for. Loki stood, summoning his battle armor and golden horned helmet with magic as he rose gracefully. Peter scrambled to his feet like an overly enthusiastic puppy and was stripping off his outer shirt and jeans to put on his suit. The kid had finally learned to wear a skintight undershirt and bike shorts under his clothes so he could change quickly without showing the world his underpants. No one wanted to see that, least of all Loki. It was Loki who had made the suggestion. And provided the garments which would magically not be able to be seen under the kid’s skin tight suit.

Peter hadn’t stopped thanking him for a week straight.

The rest of the team was entering the common room in uniform as Peter was putting on his mask. Cap looked concerned as ever at the overly enthusiastic puppy going out on missions with them. He usually avoided it whenever possible. The kid was only 15, but he wanted so much to help.

“There’s monsters attacking downtown,” Cap announced when everyone was assembled. “We want to take them out as quickly as possible. Save the civilians,” he directed that last part at Loki, who rolled his eyes.

He knew he was supposed to save the civilians.

He wasn’t a moron.

Just because he hardly cared about the mortals didn’t mean he didn’t know what he was supposed to do. Plus they were civilians. Even Loki knew that civilians needed defending. Even if they were puny Midgardian mortals who he wanted to stab most of the time.

The team headed out, Thor and Ironman flying in, the kid swinging on webs with Loki teleporting along beside the kid. He’d somehow become the kid’s de facto babysitter on these kinds of missions.

They made it quickly to the battle and found the monsters Cap was talking about. Horrible creatures, some breathing fire, most just wreaking havoc. Stark started working on perimeter to keep the monsters contained and the civilians out of the way. Loki drew his daggers and jumped into the battle, keeping an eye on the kid while he did. Peter was tying up the things with his webs for the others to take down, keeping a fairly safe distance like he was told.

Loki was impressed the kid was listening for once. Until the kid landed near Loki to web up one of the creatures and didn’t pay enough attention to what was going on around him. “Arachnid!” Loki yelled and grabbed the kid, lifting him off of his feet and throwing him out of harm’s way. Or was it yeet-ing him out of harm’s way? Was that the right use of that idiotic word the kid liked so much?

That wasn’t important.

What was important was the fireball one of the fire breathing monsters had thrown at the kid when he wasn’t paying attention.

What was more important was that Loki didn’t have time to save both himself and the kid.

What was most important of all was that Loki saved the kid and took the hit himself.

He cried out in agony as the fireball hit him full out and he went flying. He flew far from the impact and rolled hard along the asphalt.   It was only centuries of combat training that had him rolling back to his feet, though one arm was severely burned and one of the horns on his helmet had broken. He was severely burned and in a lot of pain, but that just fueled his rage.  He growled and lunged back in to attack the fire breathing monster, throwing ice at it to weaken it, just as it throwing fire at him weakened him.

Frost giants were weak against fire.

Severely.

Loki’s arm was a burned mess, hanging limp at his side and he fought back the pain. He was a trained warrior and continued the battle as if nothing was wrong.

“Mr. Loki!” Peter yelled concerned and scared for his friend as he rushed back in to help. He webbed up the monster while Loki covered it in ice. It was down for good after that. Peter fussed over Loki’s arm worriedly and Loki could sense the tears in the kid’s eyes beneath his mask.

“Stop fretting little arachnid. It will take more than a little fire to take down a god,” Loki reassured him. “Come along. There are more monsters to deal with. And be careful,” he ordered the kid.

“But, Mr. Loki, your arm-!” the kid wailed, hurt that Loki had been hurt saving him.

“Six,” Loki replied calmly. “And it is only that high because we are in the middle of battle and I am unfortunately injured.” He took the kid by the shoulders, shaking him a little to make sure he was listening. It was hard to tell behind the mask. Loki used a bit of magic to swirl up some defenses so they’d be safe while he gave the kid this much needed pep talk. “The arm will be fine. It will heal. Now is not the time to fret over an injury. We are neck deep in monsters and we are warriors. You wish to be an Avenger. It is an admirable goal. We have a job to do here, teammates and civilians to protect, monsters to eliminate. A warrior does not worry over a wound during a battle unless it is life threatening or will keep them from fighting. This wound is neither of those things. So get your head in the fight. Pay attention and do your duty. Prove that you are the hero you wish so much to be,” Loki told him firmly.

“Y-yes Mr. Loki,” Peter straightened his spine, set his shoulders and prepared to jump back into the battle.

“Good arachnid,” Loki told him approvingly and he felt the kid light up at the praise. All the kid needed was a little praise and he was bouncing like a puppy. Loki dropped his shields around them and the pair jumped back into the battle.

Chapter Text

“Are you sure you don’t need anything, Mr. Loki?” Stark’s brat asked. Again. He wouldn’t stop pestering Loki. It had been days.

Loki sighed. “Five,” he told the kid, annoyed by the constant question. His arm hurt and was in a sling; it was still burned from the battle the other day. Burns healed human slow on Loki due to his frost giant heritage and it was making him irritable and grumpy at best.

“Are you sure? I could bring you tea or a new book to read? Put on a movie?” Stark’s brat was sounding more and more desperate as he tried to get Loki to let him help him with something, anything.

“Six,” Loki replied grumpily, barely keeping his voice from becoming a snarl. He was not allowed to snarl or growl at the kid.

“Please? Isn’t there anything?” Stark’s brat begged.

Loki rolled his eyes, assuming this was some kind of teenage hysteria. He summoned a dagger and handed it to the teen, who just started at it confused. “Seven. If you truly would like to do something for me, kindly insert that into my brother for me. Preferably on the right side between the third and fourth ribs,” that would cause pain, but wouldn’t really hurtThor. He wouldn’t send the kid off to hurt Thor, that would be suicidal, mean, and most importantly, no fun.

The kid just stared in horror at the dagger.

Of course he wouldn’t stab Thor for fun. That was Loki’s thing, though it would’ve been amusing

Loki sighed and vanished the dagger with a chuckle.

“Chocolate cake?” the kid asked, pleading in desperation. He was really desperate to try to bribe Loki with sweets. Loki saw the hopeless desperation in the kid’s expression and knew those tears in his eyes. He knew that expression even though he hadn’t been able to see it on his own face when he wore it.

He knew that expression from his own face from the moments before he fell from the Bifrost, when he was sodesperate for Odin’s approval and support.

The kid was in crisis for some reason.

Loki couldn’t allow that.

He couldn’t, wouldn’t, not after what he’d been through himself.

He gentled his tone and expression and looked up at the kid. “Why are you so desperate to do something for me, arachnid?” he asked Peter gently. He had to understand the kid’s feelings in order to help him. It seemed so very important to help him.

Loki was reminded how very young the kid really was while he watched him hunt for the words he needed to explain the complex emotions. Loki was nothing but a patient hunter. He looked up at Peter expectantly, waiting for the kid’s hyperactive brain to settle on the right words. Or at least for him to start babbling until he got to his point.

“You were hurt saving me,” the kid sounded so young when he said it, when he admitted what he was really feeling. Loki knew the kid wore a mask into battle partially so the bad guys couldn’t see that he was afraid. Loki saw it now and he knew the vulnerability the kid was showing him. “It’s my fault-” Peter told him with tears in his eyes.

Loki was on his feet in an instant, and though he still didn’t quite understand the hugging thing, had his arm around the teen. “No, little arachnid, no. It was not your fault. You did nothing wrong. We were in a battle. Injuries happen,” Loki reassured him, reminded again that he was just a child. For all of his powers and abilities, he really was just a child.

“You shoved me out of the way and took the fire blast yourself. Uncle Thor saidyou’re weak against fire!” the boy wailed, hugging onto Loki and letting tears spill onto his shoulder. The kid was wracked with guilt.

“Hush, arachnid. It’s alright. Everything is alright. The Avengers are a team, remember? That is what teams do, protect and help each other. You would have done the same for any of us,” Loki reassured him. “I will heal in a few days. Asgardians heal quickly,” Loki reminded him, again. “There is no reason to feel guilty.”

“But-”

“You would have done the same in my place,” Loki told him firmly and knew for a fact that the words were true.

*

“Please, Mr. Loki? Please? Please?” Stark’s annoying brat begged after Loki’s arm had healed. “Please? I told Aunt May that all you guys ever eat is takeout and that you’ve never had a proper Midgardian family dinner and she said I could invite you,” the kid babbled. He tended to do that, especially when he was nervous. “She even said she would make her famous lasagna!”

Loki gave him a look. “Am I the only one receiving this invitation?” he asked the teen, curious more than anything. Either answer would tell him a lot.

“Yes. You’re my friend. And apparently I talk about you all the time,” Peter replied.

Loki gave him another look, slightly disapproving. “The invitation is not because you aunt wishes to... get together? Is that the correct term? With me?”

Peter shook his head vehemently and looked disgusted at the very idea. “No! It’s not that at all. She’s just always nice to my friends. Please? Tomorrow night at 7. Here’s my address. If you teleport to the lobby I’ll meet you there!” Peter ran off without waiting for an answer, essentially trapping Loki into going to this event.

Loki huffed and rolled his eyes. The little arachnid was annoying. And yet Peter amused Loki. His exuberance could be infectious. And Loki realized he didn’t really believe that Peter was truly annoying.

And yet.

...

Annoying little arachnid

Chapter Text

At 6:45 the next evening, Loki teleported to the address Stark’s brat had given him.  He’d begged again before he left the tower the night before and Loki had given in, besides, it meant so much to the little arachnid that Loki show up as promised.  

So he showed up early, with a bottle of wine and flowers for Peter’s Aunt.  He was also dressed in his usual Midgardian wear of his all-black suit.  He wasn’t nervous exactly, but he knew this was important to the little arachnid so he wanted this to go well.  He’d also had to put up with lectures from the humans on proper behavior for the evening.  

He was a prince he knew how to behave. Stupid Midgardians thinking he needed reminders on how to be a polite courteous guest. 

And of course he wasn’t going to stab Aunt May.

He knew better than to stab ladies.

Especially defenseless, if formidable, Midgardian ladies.

He pulled out his phone and texted Peter that he had arrived before silencing the thing and shoving it in his pocket.  Peter came running down the stairs a minute later. “Mr. Loki! You came!” He said excitedly as he bounced over.  “Dinner’s almost ready. This way,” he tells Loki as he begins to lead him up to his apartment.  “Don’t forget, Aunt May doesn’t know I’m Spiderman,” he reminded Loki.  Again.

“I am aware, arachnid,” he said with mock exasperation.  Peter looked scared when he said that.

“You…could use my name you know…” Peter said tentatively.

Loki smirked. “But then how would you know that we are friends?” 

Peter beamed in excitement, lighting up that he had a friend.  He led Loki to his apartment and opened the door, letting Loki inside.  “Aunt May! Loki’s here!” He called unnecessarily.  

Aunt May appeared a moment later and Loki offered her a polite bow.  “Thank you for inviting me to your home, Lady Parker,” he told her and handed over the flowers and bottle of wine with an elegant flourish.  Loki was nothing if not a showman.  Aunt May looked impressed and flattered at Loki’s courtesy.  

She put the flowers in a vase and let Peter give Loki a tour of the small apartment.  Loki wished he could give his friend a fancier dwelling.  Even the rooms in the Avengers tower were nicer than the little apartment and second hand things Peter lived with.  Though Loki saw some of Tony’s influence.  Peter’s “internship” was paid, so they’d been able to upgrade some things and Loki noted that Aunt May had focused her priorities on making sure Peter had new clothes and computer equipment for school before anything for herself.

So he may have used magic to upgrade a few of the things around the apartment for her, especially the couch, her bed, put a few new flattering garments in her wardrobe, made sure her appliances were functioning properly, etc.  It was no trouble for him, but he made sure he didn’t do too much that it would be instantly noticeable.  He didn’t want the proud woman to think she was accepting charity.  

But at the same time, he wanted to help.  So he did little things to make their lives easier with magic.

They sat down at the dining room table and Aunt May served the lasagna.  It wasn’t a fancy meal by any stretch of the imagination, but it was comfortable listening to Peter tell his aunt about his day at school.  Loki told stories about growing up with Thor, as his life on Midgard was fairly boring, so no one wanted to hear about that.  He saw Peter stiffen when Aunt May started telling them about someone at her office who was harassing her and making her life there miserable.  He watched Peter’s anger grow, but he was fighting to hide it in front of Aunt May especially.  

Peter looked over at Loki and mouthed “Eight”

Loki nodded.  Dinner was over and they were to help Aunt May with the dishes.  So Loki cheated and vanished all the dishes to the cabinets clean, the leftovers into the fridge in covered dishes and everything sparkling clean. “T-thank you-“ Aunt May said, looking shocked and impressed.  Loki offered her and elegant bow and let himself be dragged to Peter’s room to be ‘shown something’

Peter started pacing the tiny room almost as soon as the door closed behind the pair.  He was angry and red faced and clearly didn’t know what to do.  “Arachnid?  What’s wrong?” He knew the kid was upset.  Knew whatever was going on with that man at Aunt May’s office was likely behind it, but he didn’t know what the real problem was or how to help his small friend.  

“Men are scum, filth!  Terrible, horrible, creatures!  Why?! Why does he treat Aunt May like that?” The kid ranted as he paced.  Loki took a seat on Peter’s bed, waiting for him to calm enough for Loki to help him.  

“What has this man done to inspire this diatribe, arachnid?” Loki asked gently when Peter’s rant fizzled out.  

Peter turned to him and glared.  “He keeps harassing Aunt May at work.  He’s a creep and keeps saying and doing inappropriate things.  She said I have to stay out of it and let Human Resources do their job and deal with the man.  But they’re not going to do anything! They’re just going to give him a slap on the wrist and he’ll keep hurting her, or other women!!! I have all these powers and there’s nothing I can do to help someone I love!” He wailed.

Loki was taken aback, both by the teen’s troubles, and by the fact that the young man had brought these concerns to him of all people.  “Thank you for confiding in me, arachnid.  Though I’m not sure how I can be of assistance here. It sounds like your aunt wishes for this to be handled the Midgardian way…” Loki tells him gently.

Peter huffed and flopped down on the bed next to Loki. “That’s the thing.  I’m a superhero! I should be able to do something.  She’s my aunt and she’s raised me since my parents died and I can’t even help her with my powers? What good are they if I can’t help those I love?” He wailed.

Loki gave him a smirk.  This he knew how to help with.  “Your powers are not your only asset, little arachnid,” he told Peter gently.  

Peter shot up to look at him, desperation in his eyes. “What else is there?”

“You have friends.  So while you may not be able to do anything about this creep who is bothering your aunt, I am under no such constraints,” Loki reminded him.  He’d just go stab the man and be done with it. That would solve all of the problems and tie everything up in a nice little bow.

“But Aunt May wants Human Resources to take care of it…” Peter replied in a small voice.  He was too good at heart to take Loki up on his offer, but he wanted the man taken care of at the same time.  He wanted his family safe.  Loki could relate to that.

Loki considered that.  “Then how about this?  We will allow Human Resources an opportunity to deal with the situation.  If they do not do so to your satisfaction, then I shall turn this creep into a goat for you,”

Peter perked up, looking excited and relieved that there was a plan.  A real plan that he could get behind.  “An ugly stupid goat?” he asked Loki excitedly.

Loki chuckled.  “Any kind of goat you would like, little arachnid,” he replied pleasantly and this time was not surprised when Peter threw his arms around Loki’s waist and he knew now to allow his arms to encircle the young man.

“Thank you, Loki,” 

He’d dropped the ‘Mr’ and somehow that spoke more than anything else had coming from the little spider.

And warmed Loki’s heart.

Chapter Text

“Hey, Loki,” Peter greeted Loki as he came into the common room of the tower, tossing his school bag on the couch carelessly.  It had been over a week since Loki had been invited over to family dinner.  Loki was still surprised ever time when Peter no longer called him ‘Mr.’ He kept waiting for the formality to come back and it never did.  

He didn’t understand why it never came back.

And he couldn’t help being pleased by the development.

Even though Loki was having a bad day. 

“What’s the number today?” Peter asked as he fwumped comfortably onto the couch, pulling out web fluid notes to go over with Loki to see if they could improve the formula.

“Six,” Loki replied, then paused, considering the day he was having with Stark being an ass.  “And a half,”

Stark huffed from nearby and rolled his eyes.  He was the one getting on Loki’s nerves today.  He kept poking and prodding at Loki’s temper, especially right before Peter was due to arrive.  “Why?  How are they friends? And how do we make it stop?” He whined.  He wanted Peter away from Loki’s bad influence.

Thor clapped Stark on the shoulder.  “Fear not, Man of Iron.  The friendship is good for both of them.  As to how,” Thor shrugged “Relatively speaking, they are of an age,”

“What?!? He’s like a thousand years old and the kid is 15!” Stark protested.

Thor laughed.  “We live for roughly five thousand years.  By Midgardian standards, Loki would be roughly a few years older than the young spider, but not unreasonably so for them to be friends,”

Peter smirked and got to his feet, donning his Spiderman suit a moment later.  He took Loki’s hand to haul him to his feet.  “C’mon, let’s go patrol,” he told Loki and dragged him out of the tower while Loki laughed and let his armor shimmer into place.

They patrolled for petty crime, which was ridiculous and silly.  And so… petty.  And yet, it made Peter so happy to help normal everyday people with normal everyday problems.  It wasn’t fighting Hydra, monsters, and aliens.  It was stopping robbers and pickpockets.  Helping retrieve cats from trees.  There was always some petty crime going on in New York, so they always found something to do.

Loki didn’t mind helping out especially since, if he was having a bad day especially, Peter wouldn’t say anything if he had a little fun with his victims when they left them for the police.  Peter did insist on rules about Loki’s fun, which made it slightly less enjoyable, but even he had to admit the rules were… reasonable.  Loki wasn’t allowed to permanently harm, disfigure, or kill, any of the criminals.

So Loki had to settle for mischief and embarrassment.  

Which led to a LOT of naked webbed up criminals with magically dyed hair and mustaches drawn on with sharpie.  The notes of their crimes were very conveniently placed, but the criminals were thoroughly embarrassed and Loki had his fun.

*

One Monday, Peter didn’t come by after school.  That wasn’t too strange.  Peter didn’t come by every day.

Just basically every day.

In fact, Loki couldn’t remember a day that Peter hadn’t come by at least for a minute to grab a bite to eat.  The fridge was always full and growing boys on every realm were starving creatures.

But…

Had Peter seemed off the last couple of days?

Had Loki not noticed something?

It was just a day, surely it was nothing.

*

Peter didn’t come by Tuesday either.  

Loki tried not to sound worried when he asked if anyone had seen the brat.  They told him that they hadn’t, but they were sure it was nothing to worry about.

Stark said he’d needed the day off for something. 

*

On Wednesday, Loki actually got his phone out and texted the boy.  <Are you alright, arachnid?>

There was no response

*

On Thursday, Loki teleported outside of Aunt May’s apartment and knocked on the door politely.

Then less politely.

Then pounded on the door.

And then broke Aunt May’s no teleportation rule and teleported into the apartment. 

It was empty, though there should have been someone home at that hour.

*

On Friday, Loki risked breaking Peter’s trust.  He was deeply concerned about his friend.  He didn’t tell anyone about what he was planning, but Thor knew he was up to something.  “Brother, whatever you are planning, do not.  The spider child will not appreciate you prying into his private matters.  He would tell us what is going on if he wishes for us to know,”

“What if something has happened to him? What if he is injured or worse? No one has heard from him in days and he is part of this team!” Loki replied hotly.  He was past caring that they would think him a sentimental fool.  His friend was missing.

“Stark said the child is not injured,”

“Stark has heard from him?!” Loki demanded and before Thor could reply went to confront Stark as to the location of his brat.  Thor followed, concerned about his brother’s behavior.

Stark was in the common room with the rest of the team.  “Stark,” Loki snarled to get Stark’s attention.  He looked up from the Jarvis screen he’d been working on.  

“What’dya want, Reindeer Games?”

“You know where the little spider is?” Loki demanded and tried to keep the desperation for answers from his voice.

Stark nodded and looked like he had a sarcastic comment prepared, but he must’ve caught the desperate gleam in Loki’s eyes.  “He’s been sick.  At the hospital. They just sent him home today.  He should be there by now,”

The hospital?

But Midgardians needed to be desperately ill to go there.

Especially Midgardians like Peter who did not have much money.

Without a word Loki teleported directly outside of Aunt May’s apartment.  It took every ounce of his willpower not to teleport directly inside.  He knocked politely at the door.  It took a minute and he heard someone moving around before Aunt May opened the door.  “Loki… Peter isn’t feeling well,” she tells him and tries to close the door again. 

Loki held it open.  “Please?  Please let me see him. We’ve been-” he shook his head. “I have been so worried about him,” he admitted the genuine care he felt for the arachnid and let Aunt May see how worried he’d been.

She sighed and opened the door.  “Alright, but don’t pressure him if he’s not up to company,” she told him firmly.  Sometimes she was so easily bowled over by Loki’s charm.  At other times she treated him just like any of Peter’s other friends. 

Loki offered her a polite bow, his manners slipping to the proper manners of home in his nerves as he stepped past her to Peter’s room.  He knocked tentatively on the door.  “Arachnid?  Will you let me in? Please?” Loki asked and even he could hear the fear in his voice at what he’d find inside.  Or worse, that Peter would send him away.

“Loki? You can come in,” Peter sounded nervous.  Unwell. His voice weaker, younger than usual.

Loki tentatively cracked open the bedroom door to find Peter in bed under the covers.  Loki slipped in and closed the bedroom door behind him.  “Stark said you were unwell.  That you had been in the hospital,” Loki said gently as he came in and sat on the edge of Peter’s bed as the teen sat up.  He looked pale and wan.  He shouldn’t.  He had super powers, super healing.  He should not look or be ill.

Peter nodded and looked suddenly shy.  “I had to switch medications and had a bad reaction to the new one,” he told Loki softly.  “Even my healing factor couldn’t handle an allergic reaction to medication…”

“Medication?” Loki asked concerned. That sounded like a long term illness.

Peter nodded, blushed, looked away embarrassed.

“Arachnid,” no that wasn’t right.  Not for this conversation “Peter, please, you are my best friend on this realm. You know I will not hurt you. I will not tease or make fun of you, not over something important like this.  Please trust me,” Loki’s voice was nearly a beg as he pleaded with the teen to let him help, to at least tell him what was wrong.

It was the first time Loki had called Peter by his name.  

Please trust me had begged to god of mischief.  

Please trust me had begged the lord of lies.

He had begged.  

He would go down on his knees and truly beg if that’s what it took to help his friend.

Peter turned even more red and looked down at his lap.  He paused a long, long, torturously long minute before he spoke again.  “The medication I’m on is to help… transition…” the kid is clearly looking for words and Loki waits patiently for him to find the words he needed.  “I was born in a girl’s body, but I’m not a girl,” he finally settled on, his voice getting vehemence in his defense of his gender.  “The medication is to help me be me until I can make the transition through surgery…” 

He wouldn’t look at Loki while he spoke, while he admitted these things.

Loki realized he’d been bullied for this before.  

The boy had soul wounds from people not accepting who he was. 

If Loki could understand anything about the young man, it was that.

Loki folded the young man into his arms, pulling Peter to him. “You thought I would not understand?  I who have no gender? Who is both male and female?  I understand more than anyone, my friend, and would never, ever turn you away for such a thing,” he told the young man sobbing out his heartbreak into Loki’s shoulder.  

Loki wanted to kill every single person who had helped add to the soul wound on Peter’s heart, who had led to the tears being shed now. 

Chapter Text

Peter’s tears eventually dried and he started to look embarrassed.  Loki couldn’t have that.  There was no need for him to be embarrassed over having emotions.  Loki smirked at him.  “So which Midgardian pastime would you like to enjoy this afternoon.  Fighting creatures?  Silly animated movies?” Loki asked, sounding put-upon and bored, though they both knew it was an act.  He wanted to spend the afternoon with Peter and wanted to make sure the arachnid was feeling better.  He’d missed his friend while he’d been gone and he was worried that Peter had been in the hospital of all places.

If Loki had anything to say about that, he wasn’t going to let that happen ever ever again.  

He would convince Aunt May to let him help Peter.

He would.  

No matter what it took.

He wouldn’t let Peter suffer.

So he summoned the screen to play old Disney movies and he and Peter sat against the headboard, playing Pokemon on Peter’s legit gameboy and Loki’s cloned one while they watched the movie.  

Both of them tried not to tear up at the little blue alien’s line “Ohana means family and family means no one gets left behind or forgotten,” 

Both of them failed.

Miserably.

And Loki remembered that Peter had faced more loss than anyone his age should ever have to.  About halfway through the second movie.  Some shakespearean remake with lions in which Loki too closely identified with the villain, the kid fell asleep.  He obviously hadn’t intended to, but Loki could tell he still wasn’t feeling well from the medication that had landed him in the hospital. 

Loki checked to make sure he was asleep and that Aunt May wasn’t bursting in at that moment.  Then he did something that he would never admit.  He let his hand shimmer to Jotun blue and placed it against the teen’s burning forehead.  Peter sighed in relief and sank further into much needed sleep.  Not at all thanks to Loki’s magic.

At least not that Loki would ever tell him.  

Loki stood from the bed and covered the teen with a blanket, making sure his friend would get some real restful sleep.  It was the best he could do for the moment.  Until he spoke with Aunt May.  

While the silly Midgardians may have considered it unmanly to take care of his friend in such a way, where Loki came from there was no shame in embracing fellow warriors.  There was no shame or fear in the mind of the warrior male. You fought side by side with them and were not ashamed to relax together. Platonically of course. Which is all Loki’s friendship with Peter would ever be.  Even if they were close.  It just wasn’t like that.  Would never be like that. 

He slipped from the room after he was sure Peter would sleep peacefully.  

Aunt May looked up from the couch when Loki entered the room.  “How is he?  Is he alright?” She asks concerned.  

Loki gave her a warm smile.  “He is just fine.  He fell asleep, so I was going to take my leave so he may rest.  However, there is something I wished to bring up to you.  Especially as he is still… underage?” He questioned the word, unsure if it was the correct one.

Aunt May looked understandably wary.  “You want to ask… my permission for something?” She confirmed what Loki was looking for.  

He gave her a tentative nod.  “Peter explained what has ailed him,” Loki started and paused, searching for the right words to get what he wanted, to be able to help his friend.  “I dislike seeing my friend so ill.  I know you do not usually approve of magical solutions to problems.  And I would not wish to make you uncomfortable.  But I thought, perhaps for his sake, you might be willing to make an exception.  He explained that his future is filled with more medication and a painful surgery that still will not completely correct that his body was born incorrect for his mind,” Loki steeled himself, knowing Aunt May didn’t particularly care for magic, and yet this was important.  He shifted to Lady Loki in front of her.  “I understand Peter’s condition more than you may have been aware, as I am neither male nor female, but can change between the two as I see fit due to my magic,” she changed back to the Loki Aunt May properly knew.  

“And you want to-?”

“I wish to save Peter from the surgery, from the medication and pain that will not properly fix the problem.  I wish, if you will please allow me, to give him the body he should have been born with.  I have the power and skill to do it.  And I swear on my mother, my brother, everything I hold dear, including your nephew,” he actually admitted to her how much his friendship with Peter meant “That no harm would come to him, and if he ever wishes to undo it, I would gladly do that for him,”

Aunt May looked completely shocked.  “You would do that for him?  You’d-?” She has no words, but Loki saw the adoration in her eyes.

Loki inclined his head.  “I would and I will.  I wish for him to be comfortable in his body,”

There were tears in her eyes.  “Please?  Please help him,” 

Loki inclined his head again, relieved.  “As soon as he is well,”

*

A few days later, Peter dropped by the tower after school and Loki gave him a bright smile.  “Good to see you among the living, arachnid,” he teased. 

Peter laughed.  “Yeah, finally got my meds sorted,” he replied.  “What’s the number today?”

“Three,” Loki replied automatically and stood.  

“Really?  That’s why Loki is such a jackass most of the time?  He’s a moody emo teen?” Stark was grumbling at Thor in the other room. He still didn’t approve of Loki’s friendship with Peter.  Even he would change his mind soon.

“Four,” Loki corrected, glaring in Stark’s direction. 

Peter laughed.  “So what are we up to today?”

Loki just smirked.  “Come, arachnid,” he told the teen and started for the elevator. “You don’t need your bag, or your suit,” he added. Peter rushed to catch up with him, Peter in his jeans and school t-shirt and Loki in his all black suit. As usual.  At least the press was getting used to the sight of seeing them together, so they didn’t draw too much undo press.

“Where are we going, Loki?” He asked.  He wasn’t going to argue.  He was just curious.

Loki grinned.  “You’ll see when we get there.” Peter shrugged and started telling Loki about his day and how his friends had been worried.  He told Loki about the upcoming dance and how he was thinking of asking MJ to it.  He told Loki of how he and Ned were going to build a huge lego kit together and Loki was totally welcome to join them.  He thought Loki would enjoy the activity and Loki agreed that it sounded enjoyable.  

They walked for awhile until they came to a building with a giant circular window at the top. “We are here to see a wizard.  I need to look at one of his spellbooks.  Do not hurt his books.  You can annoy the wizard as much as you like,” Loki told him with a smirk as they entered.  

There was an exasperated sigh from the top of the stairs a moment after they entered.  “Loki Odinson, to what do I owe the pleasure?” Strange asked, his voice laced with sarcasm.

Loki smirked at Peter.  “That’s the wizard.  Go annoy him, arachnid,” to Strange he said.  “I just need to reference a book, and then I will leave you be.” Loki left Peter to pester Strange with all sorts of annoying questions about being a wizard while he got the book he needed and looked up the last piece of information.  He may have trapped Wong upside down on the ceiling for the next three hours so Wong wouldn’t stop him from getting the book from the restricted section.  

He smiled and returned to the pair.  “Peter, time to stop annoying the wizard,” Loki told the still babbling teen.  Peter grinned and bounced over to him.  Strange placed his head in his hands and grumbled.  Loki turned to Peter.  “Stand there and Don’t. Move.” He told the teen and opened the spellbook.  A green circle of power surrounded the teen “Go away Strange,” he told the wizard. Your book and my friend are both perfectly safe and you do not wish to be here for this,”

Strange wisely decided to leave.  

And promptly told Stark that Loki was doing magic on Peter.  

Loki worked on his spell very carefully.  He wouldn’t risk messing this one up. “Loki?” Peter asked, concerned as the magic swirled around him.

“Hush. This will not hurt or harm you,” Loki told him, not looking up from, or interrupting his spell.  “And stop fidgeting,”

Loki completed the spell and vanished the book to its place in the library.  Peter looked over himself, expecting something until he flushed and realized that Loki’s spell hadn’t changed anything except giving him the male body he should have been born in.  He wasn’t taller or broader.  His body type hadn’t changed.  He was just male now, officially.  “You-?” Peter asked in disbelief.

Loki inclined his head and Peter threw himself in Loki’s arms, hugging him tightly.  

The god’s arms wrapped around the Midgardian teen.  “I could not leave you to suffer, my friend.  Not when I could help.  Not when I could fix the problem,”

“Thank you isn’t enough,”

“It is more than plenty to have you healthy and happy,” Loki replied, his arms not loosening from around his friend. 

Chapter Text

“I know you asked if you could, but I didn’t think you were actually going to do it!” Peter exclaimed as he held Loki tightly.

Loki chuckled.  “Of course, I would arachnid.  There was no reason to let my friend suffer when I could do something about it.  Especially when the cost to me is nothing more than a nap this afternoon.  And maybe a chocolate cake…” That got Peter to laugh.  Loki’s love of sweets was legend.

Almost as legendary as his temper.  Though Peter wasn’t sure he believed that one.  At least not anymore.  Strange was watching everything from the top of the stairs.  “Stark! Damnit Stark pick up the damn phone.  I was wrong.  The kid’s not in danger.  Jarvis, tell him before he does something stupid,” Strange snapped.  Loki ignored him.  He wasn’t really concerned about Stark.  He could handle whatever the idiot mortal dished out.  Plus Stark would forgive him once he realized what Loki had done for Peter.  Loki had gotten permission from the two people he’d needed to: Aunt May and Peter.  It was none of anyone else’s business.

Except that Peter stiffened in Loki’s arms and the hair rose on Peter’s arms.  Loki knew the signs of the spider-sense, even if Peter hadn’t identified the danger yet.  Loki also knew there wasn’t much time.  Peter’s spider-sense didn’t work far out into the future. Loki heard the sound and shoved Peter from his arms and to safety while the teen stumbled a few steps away looking confused. 

Loki had shoved him away just in time as a heavy red and gold metal object collided with the god and a hand wrapped around Loki’s throat as Ironman slammed him into the nearest wall.  He could’ve done something to avoid the attack if he weren’t preoccupied with making sure Peter was safe. 

Loki made a choking noise as the metal hand tightened around his throat as he was held against the wall off his feet. 

“Mr. Stark! No!” Peter protested, but was being held away from the confrontation by the cloak of levitation.  Everyone was overprotective of the kid, including Strange and the cloak.

“What did you do to him?” Stark snarled at Loki through the mask.  Loki made another strangled noise as his hands scrambled at Tony’s suit, trying to find purchase.  

“He helped me! Mr. Stark! Put him down!!” Peter wailed, struggling against the cloak.

“Stark, listen to your ward,” Strange insisted. “Loki did no harm,”

Loki growled and finally got purchase on the hand around his throat and wrenched the metal hand open with pure strength. His feet his the ground and he shoved Stark away, drawing his daggers in the next movement, even as he fought for breath.

Stark started to rush back in, but Loki waved a hand and stopped him with magic, holding him in one place. “Let us not have a repeat of that performance,” Loki said dryly while Stark protested the treatment.  

“What. Did. You. Do. To. The. Kid?” Stark snarled at Loki, threatening though he couldn’t move. 

Loki rolled his eyes.  “It is none of your business.  I cleared my actions with the arachnid and his overprotective aunt before I cast any magic,” 

“What did you do?” Stark repeated in a growl.  He wasn’t accepting that Loki didn’t hurt Peter, despite what everyone said.  Loki had cast magic on the teen.

Loki smirked.  “I simply gave him his heart’s desire.  That is all,”

Tony stopped growling and struggling.  He finally stopped to pause and listen.  “You-?”

Loki shrugged.  “Gave him the physical form he always should have had,”

“It’s true, Mr. Stark!” Peter called now that everyone was quieter.  “Please don’t fight!”

Tony’s mask vanished from his face with a slide of metal.  He gave Loki an apologetic look.  “I was wrong.”  Loki could hear the apology under the words, even if Stark was too proud to say them.

Loki nodded.  “I would never harm the spider-child,” 

Tony gave him a reluctant nod of agreement.  “I know.  For better or worse, the kid is your friend,”

“I told you, Mr. Stark,” Peter said with a huff

*

Loki spent the next few times Peter visited making sure he was comfortable and proficient fighting and moving in his new body.  Though ver little had changed, Loki wasn’t taking chances with his friend’s safety.  Peter was grateful for it too.  Loki had a thousand years of combat experience and was a surprisingly good teacher, so Peter got a few new tricks out of it, especially since both he and Loki tended to fight with speed and agility instead of brute force. 

Unlike a certain oafish Thor.

*

Peter went out on another mission with the team, which wasn’t that strange. There were monsters attacking civilians again and Peter was an asset for those cases.  He was good at webbing up the monsters and staying out of the way so he wouldn’t be hurt. Though really, the kid could take care of himself.

The kid was also bouncing around the jet annoying everyone on the trip there.  Until a very stressed out Loki threatened to spell him to sleep until they got there.  Peter took one look at Loki’s anxious expression and sat quietly for awhile.  Loki did not like flying, mostly because he couldn’t fly himself and teleporting while falling was neigh impossible.  As Strange had proven on him once already. Peter smirked and played with his spider webs for a minute before he held out a loop of string in Loki’s direction.  “Do you know how to play cat’s cradle?” He asked to distract the anxious god.

“I cannot say that I do,” Loki replied. Peter grinned and spent the rest of the trip teaching Loki to play, and then playing the silly children’s game with him. It kept Loki calm on the flight, which pleased everyone. 

There were monsters everywhere when they landed and the group rushed in to fight them and save the civilians.  Loki stayed close to Peter.  They made a good team and worked well together.  Plus, both of them were fast enough to bounce between different groups who needed help. 

So Loki stuck with Peter throwing bolts of magic and fighting with daggers, his usual approach to battle while Peter tied up the monsters with webs and darted back out of the way to let Loki finish them off.  They really did work well together.

Until.

They both whirled at the monster that roared across the battlefield.  A huge beast on four legs that looked like a hellhound.  And breathed fire.  “Of course.  It had to be a fire monster,” Loki growled, summoning fresh daggers.  His had landed in one of the other monsters and hadn’t been retrieved yet.  He’d collect them all after the battle.  “Come along, arachnid,”

“Loki!” Peter’s voice sounded afraid. Loki turned to the kid, expecting to have to give him a pep talk, a reassurance that everything would be alright and they would defeat the monster together.  

Instead, Loki could practically see Peter’s terror, even beneath the mask.  “I’m sorry, Loki,” he told his friend.  

Before Loki could ask what for, the kid shot web, but not at one of the monsters.  He shot webs at Loki.  At Loki! “Arachnid! What are you-?” Web covered his mouth so he couldn’t call for help or stop the kid.  Especially when Lokis hands were webbed to the car they had been regrouping behind.  

“I’m sorry, Loki.  I’m sorry, but I can’t let you face another fire monster.  I can’t!” Peter told him frantically and turned to head into the fray alone, leaving Loki away from the battle in safety. Peter couldn’t stand the thought of Loki being hurt by fire that he was so weak against.  He couldn’t.  Just couldn’t.  

Loki made a muffled noise of protest while he fought against the damn kid’s webs. 

He tugged on the webs, but they wouldn’t give.  Tried using magic against them to no avail.  Whatever chemical compound it was made of wasn’t easily affected by his magic.  Loki growled and struggled and watched helplessly as Peter rushed into battle without him to face down the fire breathing monster.  

Loki was going to kill him when he got out of this

Or hug him

He hadn’t decided yet.

Maybe both so the kid would learn to never pull a stunt like this ever again.

He finally got his dagger position to cut through the webs and got the damn things off of his hands and face and teleported across the battlefield to help finish off the fire breathing hellhound.  

It was the last monster on the field and Loki stormed straight over to Peter the second it was dead, anger rolling off of him in waves, and magic sparking around him.  Peter wasn’t afraid, he realized as everyone else backed away from the angry god.  Peter stood there and waited for Loki to smite him down.

“I’m not sorry,” the teen told him, sticking his chin out defiantly. “You’re one of my best friends and I-I couldn’t risk you to the fire.  It was the right call,” he tried to insist, tried to sound older than his years.  He tried to put the conviction in his tone. 

Loki pulled the kid into a bone-crushing hug, his anger fizzling away, though the kid needed a hard truth.  “No, arachnid,” he wouldn’t call Peter by name when he was in costume where someone could hear. “That was not the right call.  We should have fought that monster together.  Trust in your teammates.  Trust in me,” that was rich coming from the Trickster god, and yet Loki was begging for his friend to trust him. They were friends after all and Peter was arguably Loki’s best friend.  There should be trust between them.  “I am a capable warrior and we could have and should have handled it together with the team instead of rushing into danger alone.  I know how to be careful during battle and we would have been safer together,” Loki’s words were firm, but his words gentle enough not to truly upset the teen.  But he needed Peter to know that his choice was incorrect. 

“But-” Peter’s voice sounded small as he tried to protest that he’d just wanted to protect his friend.

“I appreciate that you were concerned about me.  But don’t do it again.  If you try I will turn you into something small and furry.”  That was the threat because Loki wasn’t allowed to stab the child.  

Peter laughed.  “You wouldn’t really turn me into something-”

“A rabbit,” Loki decided.  “Or maybe a puppy.  Depends on my mood.  But I will turn you into something if you ever try to pull that stunt again,”

“Yes, Loki,” the kid replied obediently, but with a touch of impishness to his tone that meant the lord of lies couldn’t trust a word that came out of the annoying kid’s mouth.  

It seemed Loki had rubbed off on him.

That may or may not have been a good thing.

Chapter Text

“LOKI! Get your magical ass in here and put this right this instant!” Stark’s voice roared, interrupting what had been a pleasant quiet afternoon in the tower.  Thor rushed into the lab to find out what Stark’s problem was.  

Loki didn’t answer.

Which was quite understandable, as Loki was not there.

Loki was conveniently out of the tower.

“What is the problem, Stark?” Thor asked when he arrived.  The rest of the team was running in too.  

It was never, ever, a good sign when Tony was bellowing for Loki.  Tony pretty much hated Loki, especially for his habit of defenestrating Tony when Tony got on his last nerve.  The feeling was mutual, but Tony could never throw Loki and they both knew it. 

They also usually attempted to get along for Peter’s sake.

But today was not usually.

Tony just gestured to the small brown rabbit in a makeshift pen on one of the lab tables.  “He turned Peter into a rabbit!” Stark exclaimed, gesturing.  He was panicking and couldn’t fix this without Loki to beat into a pulp.  Thor looked just as horrified while the rest of the team was laughing at the ridiculous situation, assuming the kid had done something to annoy Loki too far.  They all knew that Loki wouldn’t do anything that would actually hurt the kid, even being temporarily turned into a bunny wasn’t really hurting anything.  So they could laugh about it.

Stark wasn’t laughing.

Stark was panicked and Loki wasn’t around. 

Stark couldn’t beat the shit out of Loki to fix this is Loki wasn’t here.

Thor figured out the solution. “Jarvis, where is Loki?” He asked the AI, who of course was present in the lab.

“He went out of the tower, sir.  Shall I call him?” Jarvis replied.  

“Please,” Thor knew to be polite to the AI.  He was polite anyway, but the AI ordered the pop tarts, so Thor was polite to him for that reason if nothing else.  

A Jarvis screen came to life as the video call went through to Loki’s cell phone.  “Yes?” Loki asked pleasantly when his image came up on the screen.  He seemed to be dressed in his black suit and was clearly not in the tower.  He was in a coffee shop or something.

Tony was cooing to the rabbit, promising to get him turned back soon.  Stark glared up at the screen.  “Turn Peter back human.  NOW!” He roared at Loki.

Loki raised an eyebrow, legitimately looking confused.  “What about the spider-child?” He asked.  

“Turn. Him. Back. Now!!” Tony roared again, as if that would make Loki do what he wanted.  

Loki rolled his eyes.  “I have done nothing to the arachnid,” he replied calmly.

Tony gestured to the rabbit.  “Then what do you call this?!?” He demanded.

“You Midgardians call it a rabbit, Oryctolagus cuniculus,” Loki recited the scientific classification for a rabbit, just to be an ass for technically answering Tony’s question, but not giving the answer he was really looking for.  “I thought you were supposed to be smart, Stark,” he added dryly.

“We all heard you threaten to turn Peter into a rabbit!” Tony snarled. “Now turn him back!”

“The arachnid?  I have done nothing to him,” Loki protested innocently.

“Brother.  Enough.  Your joke is over,” Thor told him firmly.  The joke of turning Peter into a rabbit had been entertaining, but Tony was legitimately panicking and it was time for the joke to end.

“I do not jest, I have done nothing to the spider-child,” Loki replied with a smirk and moved his phone so Peter was in the shot, coming back to their table in the coffeeshop, bringing drinks and snacks with him.  “Except take him out for coffee,”

The room burst into more laughter, as did Loki and Peter.  “Surprise, Mr. Stark!” Peter laughed while Tony glared and grumbled and demanded to know about the rabbit.  However, it was obvious when the rabbit disappeared in a shimmer of green magic.  Loki and Peter had made the joke together to make Tony think the rabbit was Peter.

“Two,” Loki told his friend jovially.  This had brightened his mood considerably.  Peter laughed and they ended the call. 

The pair of them laughed about it and the video they had of Tony cooing to the rabbit for weeks.

*

“Six,” Loki informed Peter when he arrived at the tower.  

Peter grinned. “That’s fine. I was gonna go out on patrol.  Come with me,” Peter replied jovially.  Loki chuckled, his mood easing from his friend’s presence.

“Very well, arachnid,” he replied as stood from his couch, his armor shimmering into place as he did. Peter dropped his stuff next to his usual couch and changed quickly into his suit. He made sure his mask was firmly in place before the pair headed out of the tower.   Loki waited patiently as the child did not possess magic.  He had checked as he would have taught his friend to use it if he did.

They headed out of the tower to track down petty crime.

The pair stopped a robbery, webbing the men in place in the bank.  

They stopped some stupid teens from stealing a car.  

They stopped and took pictures with fans, until Loki got too homicidal and they moved on.  

They stopped a group of men from harassing a young lady.  And then walked her home.  

Things were going just fine and typically for a weekday afternoon.  The pair came across an armed robbery of yet another bank.  Loki huffed and rolled his eyes.  “Stupid mortals stealing money,” he grumbled and summoned a bolt of magic in his hand.  He tended to avoid using the daggers when he was patrolling with Peter, since the teen didn’t approve of killing or really injuring even criminals.  So they webbed up the criminals and Loki stunned them with bolts of magic, tricks, illusions, occasionally some hand to hand combat, especially if they were being particularly annoying.

This group of criminals robbing the bank were a different story.  There were more of them than usual. 

That didn’t concern Loki.

The pair rushed in webs and magic flying.  

Guns went off.  Not at the hostages, but at Loki and Peter.  Loki raised a shield to defend himself. Peter was across the room already.  He trusted the spider to get out of the way.  He trusted the suit Stark made to be bullet proof as stated.

He shouldn’t have trusted.

He should have known better.

Peter cried out in pain

Loki whirled to Peter’s yell to see blood pouring from the teen.

The suit had failed.

Peter was bleeding.

The bullets had hit him.

Loki roared in rage and pain that his friend was hurt.  “Loki,” Peter’s voice was small and pleading.  He was hurt and scared.

Loki gave him a too-calm, too pleasant look.

“Ten”

Chapter Text

Peter was on the floor, sitting against the wall, bleeding from multiple bullet wounds.  His friend was on the floor bleeding.  Loki hadn’t been able to stop it.  He hadn’t been able to keep his friend safe.  He was supposed to protect Peter while they were out.  It was his responsibility, but he was usually so good at defending himself, or at least being out of the way.  He never got hit, never got hurt.  Between Karen in his suit and his own good reflexes… but then again, they rarely dealt with men with guns.

Peter was bleeding.

Loki’s friend was bleeding.

“Loki,” the small word was scarcely more than a whisper, a frightened injured boy begging for help.

The child’s fear struck a memory from centuries upon centuries ago.  Loki and Thor were children, playing some stupid children’s game in the royal forest.  It was supposed to be safe for the two princes to play there, even unsupervised.  They were much older, of course, but they looked to be around ten Midgardian years old at the time.  They were chasing each other with wooden swords and making all sorts of noise.  Neither of them were paying attention to the forest around them.  Neither of them noticed the bilgesnipe until they had already angered it. The giant antlered beast chased the two princes who could do nothing but run from the angry beast.  

Loki tripped over something, a root or rock, it didn’t matter.  He went sprawling and the beast lowered it’s head as Loki scrambled back to his feet.  He was hit by the creature’s horns and went flying.  He crashed hard into a tree, his runty body bleeding and broken by the impact.

He didn’t understand Thor’s reaction at the time.  

Thor had roared in anger and pain.  Loki could feel his fear, could feel his rage.  The atmosphere was charged.  It felt like a thunderstorm, though the skies were clear.  Thor held out his hand in the direction of the palace as lightning crackled around his small outstretched fingers.  For the very first time, Mjolnir came flying to him.  His eyes glowed the blue-white of pure lightning as a bolt came out of nowhere from the sky, not striking any of the trees, which were all much bigger than the child Thor and should have attracted the lighting, but hitting Mjolnir, held high above Thor’s head.  He pointed the hammer toward the charging bilgesnipe and roared as the lightning flowed from the sky to the creature, though Thor without harming him.  The creature exploded in a rain of blood and guts when it was struck with that much uncontrolled lightning.

Thor and Loki both stared in horror at the carnage Thor had made.

In the next instant, Thor dropped the hammer and ran to his brother to check on him.  He lifted Loki onto his back to carry him back to the palace, fretting the entire time over his brother being injured.

Loki hadn’t understood the reaction then.

He understood it now.

And these mortals would pay for harming Peter.

Peter wasn’t his brother.  Not officially, but he was Loki’s closest friend.  And these pieces of walking carrion had hurt him.  

Things moved quickly.  Too quickly for the doomed mortals.  Loki teleported to Peter’s side, summoning clones to keep the gunmen occupied and disarm them.  He threw up shields around the building and the civilians, keeping everyone inside and the civilians safe.  

With them both safe, he could attend to his friend.  He didn’t have a lot of healing magic, but he could manage to help Peter until he got him back to the tower.  So he used a modify shield spell on the bullet wounds to keep them from bleeding until he could do more work later.  He placed a hand on Peter’s forehead and knocked the kid out temporarily.  Peter didn’t need to see what Loki was going to do to these pieces of walking carrion.

He wouldn’t approve.

Not one tiny bit. 

Loki stood to face the criminals. “I am Loki of Asgard,” he informed them too calmly.  “And you have injured my blood brother. You will all die for your crimes against me and mine.  Whoever gives up the one who shot him will have an easy death.  That is the best offer you will get from me,” Loki snarled at them, drawing a dagger in one hand and a bolt of magic in the other as it sparked in his hands,”

The criminals looked terrified.  Loki could feel their fear wafting off of them.  The civilians surprisingly weren’t afraid.  They trusted that Loki and Spiderman would save them.  They weren’t prepared for what was going to happen.  Most of the city had put the alien attack behind them, convinced it was mind control.  Which is was.

This wasn’t. 

This was revenge.

And these men would pay.

“It was him!” One of them shouted, pointing out one of his fellows.  

Loki inclined his head too calmly and stepped over to the snitch.  “Smart man,” he told the man calmly.  The poor mortal thought he was getting out of this alive.  Poor idiotic mortal.  Before the mortal knew what was happening, Loki had snapped his neck and thrown the body to the ground in disgust.  

The others looked sick with fear and the realization that Loki was known as the dark prince for a reason.  They were finding out why now.  Loki glared at them and they tried to shoot him.  He scoffed and turned the guns into snakes, which the men yelled about and dropped while the snakes slithered around them.  Rude

Two of the men rushed Loki with bare hands.

Or they tried.

Loki turned all of the bones in their bodies to sand from the neck down.  They fell in horrific blobs of flesh to the ground and would die eventually.  

He never said he was killing them quickly.

The last one, the one who had harmed Peter he lifted by the throat, and proceeded to rip limb from limb, using magic to keep him alive while his legs went hither, his arms went yon, and his head remained alive to answer questions from the police.

Some of the civilians were horrified.

All of them and all of the villains learned to never harm the little spider who Loki cared for. 

Do not harm what Loki cares for, for he is vicious in his revenge.

Nor did Loki care what trouble he got into for this stunt.

The men who harmed his blood brother had to pay with their lives. 

And so they would.

Slowly.

Loki dropped the shields on the civilians and building, allowing the civilians to leave and the police to enter. Though he wasn’t up to deal with either.  He had more important matters to attend to.

Loki went to Peter and lifted him into his arms easily, carrying the kid bridal style to take him home and get proper medical attention.  Peter wouldn’t approve of Loki killing the people who hurt him.  Poor kid just didn’t understand.  He still had too much innocence.  And Loki wouldn’t be the one who destroyed that.  So he carried the kid from the bank before he’d risk letting him wake.

“Loki?” The kid asked when he stirred during the walk back to the tower.  

“Hush, arachnid.  You’re safe,”

“The men?” He asked in a small scared voice.

Again, Loki thought of Thor’s reaction during the bilgesnipe battle.

“Taken care of. No one harms my brother and gets away with it,"

Chapter Text

“Taken care of?” Peter asked in a small scared voice.  At least he realized he was too injured to walk on his own and wasn’t fighting the fact that Loki was carrying him back to the tower.  At least Loki had to get them away from the police and press before he teleported them away.

“Hush, arachnid.  Don’t worry about it,” Loki soothed. Peter didn’t need to worry about the very dead criminals.  Or the criminals who wished they were dead.  Technically, Loki had only killed one of them.  And that was a mercy blow. 

“You called me your brother,” Peter’s voice was a pained murmur, but he still sounded pleased and confused by that realization, but that hint of memory teased him and demanded an answer.  Loki could accept that.  

“Not all family is by birth,” Loki said softly to the teen cradled in his arms.  It was hard to read Peter’s emotions when he was wearing the mask and Loki wished he could rip it off, but he wouldn’t out in public.  He wouldn’t risk Peter’s secret identity.  It would ruin Peter’s life, or so the teen thought.  Though eventually someone was going to make the connection between Loki and Peter’s friendship and the fact that Loki often went patrolling with Spiderman.  So far, though, the masses were ignorant.  

Loki hated being vulnerable, and almost took back the words when Peter spoke again.  “Never had a brother before.  I think I like it,” Peter said softly.  Loki chuckled.  This kid was better and more moral than everyone on the team combined, but he was also injured and in desperate need of medical attention.  

“Now that that’s established, let us get you to the medical room so Doctor Banner can fix you up,” he told the teen.  Peter’s injuries were bad, but not super urgent at the moment since Loki had patched him up.  “Hold on tight.  Teleporting is an experience for mortals unused to it.” With that bit of warning, Loki teleported the pair of them to the medbay in the tower.  “Doctor Banner!” He called with his battlefield bellow. It wasn’t a tone he had to use often, here, but he used it now and Banner, Nat, and Thor all came running.  Thor knew that tone.  Nat and Banner were the best doctors they had in the tower.  Loki laid the teen on the bed.  “He has been shot,” he told Banner when he entered the room.  “I patched him up as well as I could on the battlefield, but healing is not my specialty,”

Banner nodded and got to work doctoring, was that even a verb, English was such a stupid language, the teen.  “His suit is supposed to be bullet proof,” Banner grumbled. He’d removed the ruined suit and Peter was mostly unconscious.

“This is an old suit.  Mr. Stark is working on mine,” Peter explained while Banner worked. He sounded pained.  Loki placed a glowing green hand on the teen’s forehead.

“Sleep.  You do not need to be awake for this,” Loki bid him softly and sent his friend to a dreamless sleep where he wouldn’t have to feel the pain.  He looked at Banner, who was giving Loki a disapproving look. “He does not need to be in pain while you work on him and with his metabolism we do not know how pain medication will work on him.  My way is better,” Loki said firmly.

“LOKI! What did you do?!?!” Tony roared from the hallway.  

Loki turned to face Stark with a growl.  “What did you do? Sending him out on patrol without a bulletproof suit?” Loki demanded in reply.  

“You killed people!”

“I technically only killed one of them.  The others simply wish they were dead,” Loki replied pleasantly. 

Thor gave Loki a look.  “Brother, what did you do?” 

Loki glared in reply.  “I took care of the criminals who injured and tried to kill one of our teammates.  Who hurt my friend,” he hesitated a moment.  “My blood brother.” He said the last softly, but knew his brother would hear.  He knew more that Thor would understand.

Thor looked like he wanted to protest, to argue that Loki shouldn’t have killed those men.  Loki gave him a firm look and locked eyes with his brother.  “Bilgesnipe,”

Thor looked confused for a moment before he seemed to remember the incident, seemed to remember what happened that day.  He turned and looked over the footage Stark pulled up of what Loki had done.  “Do not yell any further, Stark,” Thor said firmly, taking into account the old childhood tale and what he saw on the screen.  “We will discuss what happened, but Loki is not to be blamed.  Not when he was saving family.  We are warriors and this… is a common reaction,” 

Loki sighed in relief.  Of course Thor would understand. He was just grateful that Peter would be alright and Thor understood what he had done and why.  Loki stayed with Peter while Thor smoothed things over with Stark.  Thor was always protecting his little brother

Some things would never change

*

Loki was worried about how Peter would take the true knowledge of what Loki had done in his efforts to save him.  Peter was distant for a few days before he approached Loki.  “You killed them…” he said softly, hurt.  Peter knew that Loki understood how he felt about killing the criminals.

Loki hung his head. “I killed one of them.  What I did to the rest was worse,” he admitted. 

“Why?” Peter asked in a small voice.

“My people are warriors, arachnid,” Loki started, picking at his left palm as he always did when he was nervous.  He was afraid Peter would never forgive him for what he did to those men.  “Thor and I were raised to defend those weaker than us, violently and viciously if necessary.  Those men hurt you and you are under my protection,” he held up a hand to keep Peter from interrupting.  “Yes, I know that you are capable.  You are still like a little brother to me, and it was my job to protect you.  I failed you in that, and all I could do in the heat of the moment was make sure the men who harmed you would never be able to do so again,” Loki explained.  “I hope that you will be able to forgive me for my actions, someday,”

Peter thought that over long and hard.  “I don’t approve of killing,” he finally said slowly.  “I don’t like it, but I do understand that sometimes it’s necessary… More than that, though I appreciate that you consider me a brother.  And I don’t want to lose that.  And I promise not to go out on patrol without the bulletproof suit again,” he added with a smirk

Loki gave him a small smile.  “That sounds like a deal, little spider,”

Chapter Text

“What’s the number today?” Peter asked as they strolled the streets of New York in costume.

“That depends on your answer to the following: what exactly is this?” Loki asked as he stared at the Midgardian food Peter had handed him while they were out on patrol after they’d finished Peter’s homework. Peter was a growing boy and starving all the time and Loki was Asgardian and a bottomless pit, though not as bad of one as his idiot brother. They often bought food while they were out on patrol and Stark left them money just for the purpose of making sure Peter was fed and happy.  

“It’s a hotdog,” Peter replied.  He’d lifted the bottom of his mask up above his mouth so he could eat.

Loki looked dubiously at the meat? in the bun in his hand.  Plus all of the glop on top of it.  “Are you sure this is edible?  The meat is… questionable…” he’d probed it with magic and didn’t want to know what it was made of after that.

Peter laughed.  “C’mon Loki, everyone here eats them.  New York is famous for their hot dogs.  You have to try it, at least.  If you don’t like it we’ll go to that cafe you like and get you a slice of cake,” he offered.

Loki huffed. “We are doing that regardless, spider-child,” he teased his friend, which just made Peter light up in laughter.  He stared dubiously at the hot dog for another moment before he took a bite of it.  

“Well?? What do you think?” Peter demanded once Loki had swallowed.

“Edible,” Loki finally admitted. “Though I doubt it will ever be among my favorites,” he pondered Peter’s original question.  “Three. Two after we get that cake,” he said with a wistful expression.  Sweets were his weakness and Peter wasn’t above using them to bribe the god.  

Peter chuckled and they wandered in the direction of the cafe Loki liked, eating their hotdogs as they walked. They stopped a couple of robberies on the way and Loki lit up in delight when he finally got his cake.  The cafe had taken to setting a slice aside for him in case he showed up on afternoon patrol. He always made sure to tip well when he did stop by.  After Peter had explained the concept of tipping, of course. 

Peter seemed subdued as they left the cafe, something was on his mind.  Loki looked him over thoughtfully.  “What is on your mind, arachnid?” he asked.  He was as careful as always not to address Peter by name while they were on patrol. Peter didn’t seem to mind the nickname.  He knew it was a nickname of friendship.  He could usually gauge Loki’s mood by what nickname the god chose for him that day. 

Peter sighed.  “Sorry, it’s just a hard day…” he hedged.  Loki was a patient hunter and just looked at his friend, his adopted little brother, expectedly.  Peter sighed heavily again before he answered.  “It’s the anniversary of the day Uncle Ben died…” he admitted softly.

Loki paused in their strolling.  “You should have told me,” he said and wrapped his arm around Peter’s shoulders comfortingly. He teleported the two of them to the top of the nearest building so they’d have privacy. 

 Loki had learned a lot about hugging in his friendship with Peter.  He’d also heard tons of stories about Peter’s uncle.  Peter obviously highly admired the man.  Though if Loki had to hear the phrase ‘with great power comes great responsibility’ one more time he might be tempted to place a silencing spell on the child so he could never say that phrase again. 

“Midgardian tradition is to go visit his… resting place… correct?” Loki asked, trying to be supportive of his friend when he was in need.  Peter’s arms wrapped around Loki’s waist and he nodded against Loki’s shoulder.  “Do you wish to visit him?” he asked, gentling his voice.  He knew this was difficult on the teen.  He’d been so young when he lost his parents and his uncle had been like a father to Peter until he died. Peter had had his powers then, which made his uncle’s death even harder, since even with powers, Peter hadn’t been able to save him from getting shot. 

Peter hesitated. “I do, but… I’m scared,” he admitted softly.  He always said that the reason he always wore a mask was so the bad guys couldn’t see when he was afraid. “I couldn’t save him-” 

“I know, arachnid.  And I am sure he understands,” he could see how much Peter wanted to go visit his uncle.  Wanted to say something to him. No, not wanted to, needed to say something.  “W-would you like for me to accompany you?” Loki asked gently.  Peter tended to be braver with his friend with him.  Since he’d gotten shot, Loki had been a bit overprotective.  The result was that Peter was 10,000% sure that Loki would never allow any harm to befall him.  And if any did, those who had done so would die a slow and torturous death.  Peter didn’t completely approve of that, but he’d spoken with Thor about it to understand more of their culture.  He understood why Loki had reacted that way, even if he didn’t completely agree with Loki’s actions.  

“You would come with me?” Peter asked, pulling off his mask and giving Loki a hopeful expression.

Loki huffed and rolled his eyes.  “I would not offer were I unwilling,” he replied, which made Peter smile at the usual response.  Loki appreciated anything that could get Peter to smile.  “Shall we go now?” Loki asked.  Peter nodded before he lost his nerve.  Loki let his magic shimmer over the pair, dressing them in their usual clothes for strolling around the city.  Peter gave him the address for the cemetery and Loki teleported the pair there.  Peter led the way unerringly through the cemetery and Loki stayed by his side as they walked in silence.  

He stopped in front of the grave of one Benjamin Parker.  

Peter stood in front of it, looking sober for a moment before he offered the grave a bright smile.  “Uncle Ben, this is my friend Loki.  Though I think he’s kinda adopted me as a kid brother by now.  I’ve told him all about you.  I think you would’ve liked him had you gotten the chance to meet him,” at Loki’s confused look at Peter’s sudden change Peter explained with a smile, but a slightly haunted look in his eyes.  “Aunt May kept insisting that he would want me to remember him as he’d been, to honor his life, not mourn his death, and acknowledge that he’s in a better place,”

Loki nodded.  “That he is,” he agreed.  Then, to Peter’s surprise, knelt down in the grass in front of the tombstone, in his full suit.  Peter knew Loki well.  He knew how little Loki would want to ruin his fancy clothes, even if they were illusion.  Nor would he willingly kneel before anyone unless it were important.  Loki bowed his head and recited the slow and careful prayer: “Benjamin Parker, I bid you take your place in the halls of Valhalla, where the brave shall live forever. Nor shall we mourn, but rejoice, for those who have died the glorious death.”  His prayer completed, he summoned a flask of Asgardian alcohol and two shot glasses.  He poured two shots, one of which he drank, and the other he poured out on Ben’s grave.  

He stood and stepped back, brushing dirt off his pants, and allowing Peter to continue his visit properly.  Peter was looking on amazed and would be asking questions the entire way home.  “Uncle Ben, I’m so sorry I couldn’t save you.  I’m Spiderman and a superhero, and I couldn’t save one of the people who meant the most to me.  You always said ‘with great power comes great responsibility’. My responsibility is to protect those I care about and I failed you,” his voice shook as he spoke.  Loki wrapped an arm around Peter’s shoulders while tears fell from the teen’s eyes.  

“You did not fail him.  His death was a tragic accident.  As simple as that he was in the wrong place at the wrong time.  You were not even there.  You honor his memory with your determination to help those weaker than yourself,” Loki reassured him.  

Peter smiled up at him.  “Thanks Loki, you’re right.” Peter turned to his uncle’s grave.  “I promise to do my best to make you proud, Uncle Ben,” he said with a bright smile and the pair turned to leave after saying goodbye to his uncle.  

“So, what was that prayer?” Peter asked Loki and the inquisition began.  It lasted the entire way back to the tower. Loki explained about Valhalla and his people’s traditions and beliefs about the afterlife. Peter was immensely curious about everything and Loki didn’t mind teaching someone so willing to learn. 

Peter gathered up his school things when they returned to the tower.  He needed to get home for dinner and he was sure Aunt May would want to visit Uncle Ben.  “Thanks for today, witch,” Peter said with a smirk as he left.

Loki glowered.  “I am not a witch! Annoying little spider-child!” he protested loudly while Peter laughed and ducked into the elevator before Loki could retaliate. 

Chapter Text

“Loki! It came! It came!” Peter said excitedly as he came into the common room after classes one Friday.  He was holding a video game in his hands as he rushed into the tower.

Loki chuckled and gave him an indulgent smile as Peter’s backpack landed on the couch.  Loki was already over at the TV setting up the console.  “I am aware, arachnid. That was the purpose of tonight’s sleepover,” Loki replied warmly.  

Peter huffed.  “I’ve been waiting for a year for this game, witch, I’m allowed to be excited!” He told Loki.  

Loki mock-glared at him.  “I am not a witch.  I am the Master Magician of Asgard,” he grumbled.  “Not some little hedge witch.  Or a wannabe Midgardian-sorceror Strange.  Lady Wanda is a witchling.  I am not a witch,” Loki grumbled.  Peter burst out laughing at Loki’s rant.  It always amused him, which is why he called Loki a witch in the first place.  Plus he knew that Loki was pleased to have a nickname, even if he did have to grumble about it. He knew Loki wasn’t really upset with him anyway.  If he were truly upset, he’d just threaten to stab him.  Or list a high number.  Instead, he ranted and then:  “annoying baby spider,” he grumbled under his breath.  

Which just made Peter laugh harder and Loki cracked a smile to see his friend happy. 

The two of them got the game set up.  

“The pizza should be here soon.  In the meantime there is junk food,” Loki said proudly, gesturing to the collection of soda, chips, brownies, and other miscellaneous snack food he’d gone out to buy. He was so proud that he’d successfully navigated to the Midgardian grocery store, bought junk food he and Peter would both like, and made it home without killing any of the mortals.

It was quite impressive indeed.

Especially since the stupid mortals in the store had been terrified of him there without Peter.  As if they thought the teen was the only reason Loki behaved and didn’t go on mass murder sprees. So he behaved and let them live.

This time.

Peter lit up in delight and congratulated Loki on his successful shopping.  Loki made a mock elegant bow with a chuckle.  The pair settled on the couch with their junk food and video games, only moving to get the pizza.  They lounged on the couch, just enjoying their stupid normal teenage boy evening.

*

“LOKI!” Stark bellowed much later that night.  Peter had moved at some point and was sitting on the ceiling playing the game upside down.  He said it helped him concentrate.

At least it did until Stark’s bellowing caused him to fall from the ceiling.  Loki stood in one smooth motion and caught Peter around the waist before he could hit the ground and set him on the couch.  Lucky the kid was so small or Loki couldn’t have managed it without magic.  

He turned and glared at Stark.  “You almost killed your brat. What do you want?” Loki demanded, growling that Stark had put Peter in danger.  Loki could handle a lot of shit.  But he couldn’t handle Peter in danger.  Or hurt.  

He didn’t care that Stark hated him.  He did care when that hatred put Peter in danger.  Peter was supposed to mean as much to Stark as he did to Peter.  Hel, the team joked that Stark was “Irondad” when it came to the spider-child.  Loki cruelly reminded him of that fact by calling Peter “Stark’s brat”

The rest of the team came milling in at Loki and Stark yelling at each other.  It was amazing that Stark hadn’t gotten thrown out the window yet.  But he hadn’t actually done anything to Loki yet. 

“Why is there a goat in the training room?” Stark demanded.

Loki relaxed instantly.  If that’s all that was wrong… “It is a present,” Loki replied calmly with a smirk on his face.

Peter lit up in excitement.  “Is it-?” he asked, nearly bouncing.

Loki inclined his head with a grin.  “It is.  Would you like to see?” he asked Peter.  “I was intending to show you later. But now is just as well,” he added.  Peter bounced in excitement.

“Yes!! C’mon c’mon!” he said and grabbed Loki’s hand to drag him to the training room in question.  Loki laughed and went with Peter while the others all just stared in confusion.  Stark followed them to find out what was going on with the stupid goat and why it was a present.  

Why did Peter need a goat as a present?

Loki led the way to the correct training room and opened the door.  “Ta-da!” he told Peter with a grin when the teen saw the horrendously ugly goat.  The goat was also walking with its head tilted and seemed incapable of thinking enough to do anything but walk in circles.  

“What is going on with the goat?” Tony demanded.

“That is the biggest, ugliest, stupidest goat I have ever seen!” Peter tells him excitedly.  He was bouncing as he went into the room to investigate the goat.

“Seriously, what’s with the goat?” Tony asked again. 

“Does it meet your specifications?” Loki asked, amused at Peter’s thorough examination of the goat.  “You did request one that was ugly and stupid,”

“What is going on with the goat?” Tony demanded again, annoyed at being ignored by Peter.  He was used to Loki ignoring him, but Peter usually didn’t.

“It’s perfect!  Thank you, Loki!” Peter said and wrapped his arms tightly around Loki in a hug.

“WHY DOES HE NEED A GOAT AS A PRESENT?” Tony roared.

Loki and Peter both laughed.  “I made a promise to the spider-child,” Loki replied vaguely.

“What. Promise?” Tony demanded.  The others had arrived by now and were looking at the stupid ugly goat.

“The mortals did not deal with the pesky human who was tormenting Aunt May.  This was the requested solution if their ‘Human Resources’,” Loki made the finger quotes.  “Did not address the matter satisfactorily. The mortals gave the man a slap on the wrist for tormenting Aunt May. I turned him into a goat as a present for Peter,” he replied with absolutely no remorse.  

“You can’t just turn humans into goats!” Tony protest.

Loki grinned maliciously and gestured to the goat.  “I believe the evidence is in from of your eyes that I indeed can simply turn humans into goats,”

Chapter Text

Loki refused to turn the goat back into a man right away.  He would have had Peter asked him to, but Peter was determined that the man deserved to stay a goat for awhile, to teach him a lesson for hurting Aunt May.  The team begged Peter to change his mind, begged him to be reasonable and let this man go back to his life.  Peter was unmovable.  He was usually so good and moral, but that went out the window when someone he loved as much as he loved his beloved Aunt was hurt. So the man remained an ugly stupid goat, in a pen right outside the tower.  

And there he would remain until Peter asked Loki to lift the spell.  

The team was taking bets on how long that would take.

*

Loki had somehow earned himself an open invitation to dinner at the Parker’s.  He hadn’t quite understood how that had happened, but Aunt May adored him even more after Loki had given Peter the body he should have been born with.  Loki could do no wrong in Aunt May’s eyes after that.  Granted, she didn’t know about the goat.  She was just glad that guy had decided to quit.  

She didn’t see the smirks Loki and Peter exchanged when her back was turned.

Loki was over for dinner nearly once a week now and he loved the feeling of home and family at the Parker’s simple dinner table.  The meals weren’t fancy, weren’t formal, but they were more meaningful for it.  Loki often found himself stirring pots or setting the table and usually magically cleaning the dishes.  Aunt May would just put something in his hands when he arrived and expected him to work.  Just like any of Peter’s friends who came over for dinner.

She’d adopted him as one of her own. 

While they were eating dinner, a raven appeared in front of Loki in a shimmer of gold magic.  Loki lit up in delight as the raven perched on his fist.  He then gave Aunt May an apologetic look. “My apologies.  I know it is rude to receive, and more rude to answer, messages at the dinner table…” Loki hated seeming less than perfectly polite, especially in front of Aunt May.  He seemed to care what she thought of him. 

“Is that Hugin or Munin?” Peter asked as Loki removed the note attached to the bird’s leg.  Aunt May was just staring in awe at a bird appearing at her dinner table.  During dinner.

“This is Munin,” Loki told his friend.  To Aunt May he added.  “It is a message from home, from my mother, to be precise,” he explained.  “The ravens are the most reliable way to get messages across the realms,” Aunt May nodded and looked sympathetic.  She knew that while Loki looked older, he and Peter were roughly the same age lifespan-wise.  

“You best answer your mother, especially if she worked so hard to send you a message all the way from Asgard,” Aunt May reassured Loki.  

Loki sighed in relief that he wasn’t being incredibly rude and unrolled the letter while Munin hopped up onto his shoulder.  “Thank you, Aunt May,” he replied politely.  All of Peter’s friends called May ‘Aunt May’ and Loki was no exception.  He had balked at first and insisted on calling her ‘Lady Parker’ for ages until he’d been told in no uncertain terms that he was to address her as all of Peter’s friends did.  So he’d reluctantly agreed.  And found he liked being able to call her ‘aunt’ as well.

Loki lit up in absolute delight when he read the message and wrote and quick response before the raven disappeared in a shimmer of Loki’s green magic.  “What’d she say?” Peter asked, noting Loki’s expression.

“Peter! It’s rude to ask about private letters,” Aunt May scolded.  

Loki chuckled. “It’s no bother, Aunt May, and I did read the letter at the dinner table, which is even more rude.  My mother wished to inform me that she is coming to Midgard to visit for a few days,” he told them with open excitement and happiness.  Loki adored his mother more than anything in the nine realms.  Though his brothers, adopted officially or not, were a close second.  It was rare to see Loki so open and happy and took Aunt May especially off guard.  

“That’s awesome!” Peter said brightly.  He knew how much Loki adored his mother.  And how much of a Mama’s boy he was, though he would never say that to Loki’s face.  “When’s she coming?”

“Next week and will stay with us at the tower for a few days.  I guess I shall have to clear that with Stark, though Thor should be able to help with that.  And I shall have to come up with suitable activities…”

Peter lit up at that, this was his area of expertise.  “You could take her to the zoo, you liked seeing all the Midgardian animals.  There’s museums, and of course that cafe you love,” he added that last with a smirk.  

Aunt May spoke up then: “I would like to meet your mother.  Do you think she would be up to having brunch or something while she’s here? She would also be welcome for dinner if that would be easier, or something she’d be interested in,” 

“Brunch?” Loki directed the question to Peter as he was unfamiliar with the word.

“Morning tea often served with food, such as pancakes.  Can also include lunch food,” Peter supplied quickly.  He knew well of Loki’s love of sweets and even more of Loki’s ridiculous love of pancakes. 

Loki nodded his thanks to Peter and turned his attention to Aunt May.  “I am sure she will wish to meet you as well.” Loki didn’t have many friends, even back on Asgard and Frigga would be ecstatic to meet his friend and his friend’s aunt who had taken Loki in as one of her own, as Aunt May did with any of Peter’s friends, and as Frigga did with almost any youngling who came into her life. She had adopted all of Thor’s idiot friends as her own and was always sad that Loki had so few friends of his own.  She would love to see proof otherwise.  “I will set something up for the four of us,” he added at Aunt May’s expectant look.  

She nodded.  “Let me know,” she told Loki kindly.  He inclined his head politely in reply.  “Pete, after dinner, can you and Loki look over the microwave? It’s acting up again,” 

“Yes, Aunt May,” Peter replied immediately.  He knew that Loki would just fix whatever was broken in the apartment by magic, but the two would pretend to fix it to spare Aunt May’s pride.  

After dinner, Loki magicked the dishes clean and away where they belonged, the leftovers put away in containers in the fridge.  Aunt May was still hesitant about magic, but she greatly approved of that particular spell. Loki and Peter got to work ‘fixing’ the microwave with Aunt May standing nearby.  Peter would distract her in a minute so Loki could magic the microwave fixed.  “Did you find out if you can get off for the field trip?” Peter asked his aunt plaintively, drawing her attention from the microwave.  With a shimmer of green magic it was repaired better than ever.  

“Which field trip?” Loki asked curiously as he turned back to the pair. 

“An overnight camping trip the whole grade is going on!” Peter replied excitedly.  “But they don’t have enough grownups to chaperone, so they’re talking about cancelling it unless they can get more,”

Aunt May shook her head. “I’m sorry, Pete, we’re really busy right now.  I just can’t take the time off…” she told him gently, but Loki could see how much it hurt her to tell him no.

Loki pondered that for a moment.  “How many more chaperones are required?” he asked Peter.

“At least one so they don’t cancel the trip.  One of the chaperones dropped out at the last minute and they’re having trouble finding a replacement,” he explained. 

Loki hesitated a moment, but Peter looked so disappointed.  “I could accompany you on the camping trip,” he finally said.  Peter just stared at him in shock.  “I am over a thousand years old, the school cannot claim I am not an adult.  Also, I am an Avenger now…” he reminded the teen with an eyeroll.  The school also couldn’t argue too hard that he was a bad guy when he was an Avenger and would have the entire team vouching for him.  Aunt May wanted to argue that they’d never let Loki chaperone a school field trip, but her arguments were overruled with Loki’s logic.  When Captain America, Tony Stark, and Thor would be vouching for Loki’s capacity to babysit a few teenage midgardians, and was an Avenger himself, the school would be steamrolled into agreeing.  

“You’d do that?!?!” Peter asked excitedly.

Loki rolled his eyes again.  “I would not offer were I unwilling,” he repeated as he often did.  “I have gone on centuries of camping trips with my brother.  This should be no different, though I expect there will be fewer bilgesnipe,” he teased Peter.

Peter lit up in delight and launched himself into Loki’s arms for a hug. “Thank you, Loki!  I’ll take care of all the details, I promise!”

Loki chuckled and hugged the teen back. “It is no trouble, little brother,” he told Peter warmly.

Chapter Text

Somehow the school-board approved of Loki and Thor chaperoning the class trip.  Magic was probably involved in this decision being approved.  Also Captain America calling in a recommendation.  There was also an extremely strongly worded reminder to Thor and Loki that Midgardian teenagers weren’t allowed to have any alcohol and they were not to give the children any alcohol. 

Any.

They both conveniently forgot that ale was alcohol.

So since the school-board moronically decided that it was perfectly safe having Asgardian warriors babysitting Midgardian teenagers on a weekend camping trip, Loki and Thor found themselves in the school parking lot next to a group of giant yellow vehicles.   There were teenagers everywhere arguing over which vehicle they were riding in.  They all carried bags of supplies for the weekend.

“Uncle Thor! Loki!” Peter’s voice called and the teen jumped, waving his hands to get their attention.  Thor raised a hand in greeting and the pair made their way over to the teen.  Both of the gods were dressed as mortals today, until they got to the woods, anyway, in jeans of all things, their hair tied up since Peter had taught them about the Midgardian custom of the ‘manbun’.  It was still strange, but kept their long hair out of the way, so it was useful, occasionally.  Peter grinned when he saw them, then looked at Thor confused.  “I don’t think I’m ever seen you without Mjolnir…”

Thor chuckled.  “And you have not yet, Spider-child,” he replied jovially and held up the umbrella in his hand.  “However, since we are traveling less conspicuously, I thought it best to hide Mjolnir,”

Loki rolled his eyes.  “He means that he believes the Midgardian children will cause too much chaos trying to pick up the hammer to see if they are worthy,” he explained to Peter, who laughed. 

“You’re right, they’d all try.  Wanna tell them the umbrella is Mjolnir later?” he asked Loki with a grin.  Loki laughed in reply and smirked at Thor.

“I will even remove the enchantment on the umbrella for you, arachnid,” he replied while Thor huffed.

“Mr. Thor, Mr. Loki, you made it,” one of the teachers said.  They turned to face her and Loki’s arm was automatically around Peter’s shoulders.  It was a defensive gesture, though it looked simply friendly.  Peter was used to such things from Thor and Loki.  They were warriors first and didn’t always trust the humans with Peter’s safety.  And especially not with Wanda’s.  

They saw her among the teenagers too. She was going on this trip as well, which had helped sway the school board to let Thor and Loki chaperone since the Avengers were her legal guardians.  Cap wanted Loki to go along on the field trip with her.  He was helping teaching her how to better use and control her magic, so if something went wrong another magic user was nearby to help.  She still had nightmares about Hydra and just… her life occasionally, so it was better to be safe than sorry.  It was still amazing that the fifteen year old little witch had adjusted to mortal school and life so well after only a few months. She made her way closer too, to intervene if the humans were causing trouble for Thor and Loki.

“You can store your bags in the…” she trailed off, looking for their bags.  

Loki shrugged.  “That will be unnecessary,” he told her with a polite smile.  He had placed all of their supplies in his dimensional pocket. “Our bags are already stored,” he added with a charming polite smile that eased the girl’s suspicions at the adults not packing any supplies.” She gave them t-shirts to wear.  Loki looked at his and made a face.  He realized all the kids were wearing them and made an even worse face.

“C’mon, witch.  We’ll match,” Peter goaded him, looking up at him with big, pleading puppy-dog eyes.  Loki sighed and rolled his eyes and looked extremely put-upon, but with a shimmer of magic, he was wearing the stupid matching shirt.

“Annoying little brother,” he told Peter good naturedly.  There were more instructions that Thor and Loki only half-paid attention to at best before they got on one of the yellow vehicles, a bus the Asgardians were informed, with Peter, his friends, Wanda, and some other less popular students.  

Once the science nerds started singing the periodic table, Loki perked up and somehow was goaded into an impromptu science lecture.  He was the center of attention standing in the aisle of the bus, an illusion of him at the other end, mirroring his speech and actions to be heard.  He had a rapt audience of the “quiz team” whatever that was.  They all frantically took notes while he taught them about science as it was taught on Asgard.  He told them of the stars, of the elements, of the blurred line between science and magic.  One of them questioned Loki’s science and was quickly shushed by the rest as they frantically scribbled everything he said into their notebooks.  One got the bright idea of recording him as he spoke and he paced the aisle talking, and teaching. 

And Loki soaked up every single ounce of attention he got from the experience.  He was a surprisingly good teacher and with such willing and eager students?  

When he tired of teaching them, they showed him silly Midgardian games.  Someone had a deck of cards and they played some kind of diabolical card slapping game across the aisle.  The rules were simple. The game was brutal. And Thor and Loki got too into it and slapped each other more than the cards until Peter split them up.

The bus drove for a long time, but Loki and Thor entertained themselves with the bus full of children.  None besides the one annoying student who questioned their science tried to annoy the gods.  They found out quickly that if they weren’t annoying, the gods would tell them stories of Asgard.  If they were annoying Loki would threaten to silence them with magic for an hour.  

They weren’t quite sure whether to believe him or not.  

None of them took the chance that he wasn’t joking.  

After an extremely long bus ride, with snacks provided by the supplies in Loki’s dimensional pocket, the buses finally arrived at the camp.  Loki and Thor had their busload of children in perfect order under a horrible threat of Loki not teaching them any more Asgardian science.  Unsurprisingly, they were lined up with their bags in perfect order and ready to hike to the camping site.  The rest of the chaperones were fighting with their teens and Loki had a smug look on his face. 

They group finally started the hike to the camp grounds and the kids were chatting and joking the entire way.  Peter, Wanda, and the girl called MJ all walked together.  Wanda and MJ had become friends.  They were both considered weird.  

“Hey, Penis Parker!” a kid shouted as he passed them on the trail.  He taunting Peter, who turned tomato red at the insult.  He wanted to defend himself, but at the same time, he couldn’t let the other mortals know that he had powers.

Loki whirled to face the kid.  He’d been warned multiple times that he couldn’t stab the mortal children.  They had also said no permanent or damaging magic against them.  They had said nothing about threatening.  “Loki, no!” Peter protested as magic sparked green and shimmering around Loki’s hands.  He stormed toward the insolent child who spoke ill of Peter.  He knew this kid was called ‘flash’ simply by the insult.  Peter had complained about it once and once was enough.  Loki knew the insult and he knew the story behind it.  He knew of the incident before Loki had given Peter his true body.  

Insulting Peter because he was trans was unforgivable to the genderfluid god.

“Oh shit,” the kid said quickly when he realized that it was Loki who had overheard and was now storming over toward him.

“Loki…” Thor had a hand up in a placating gesture, a weak attempt at best to restrain his stabby brother.  Even he might turn a blind eye to Loki stabbing the child who insulted Peter. 

Both brothers were very overprotective of the little spider.

Thor also recognized that Loki was being intimidating.  There were no daggers in sight.  His magic was flaring all over, seemingly in his anger, but that wasn’t like Loki.  This was a show to scare the child.  

“You will never insult my little brother again,” Loki told Flash, lifting him with magic.  He didn’t harm the kid.  Just kept him from running.  His form shimmered to Lady Loki as she held one hand out, holding the teen in the air with her magic.  The teen gasped in shock.  “And you will learn tolerance for those unlike yourself,” she snarled, glaring daggers at Flash.  “You can spend the weekend feeling what it is like to live in a body that doesn’t fit, that grates the wrong way, that isn’t you,” Loki told Flash, still snarling.

Peter couldn’t handle the bully himself.

The bully hadn’t taken into account that Peter had been adopted by a god (currently goddess) with a skewed moral compass.  Loki wouldn’t actually hurt the child.  But she would teach him a lesson he would never forget.  

And his punishment even kept with the rules for the weekend Loki had been given.  Nothing permanent or truly harmful.  

With a shimmer of magic, Flash was female and protesting loudly the treatment.  More magic on Loki’s part kept the other mortals from complaining, or remembering after the weekend.  He didn’t much feel like getting in trouble for a spell that would end on the trip home.  

“The spell will end on the drive home,” Loki informed Flash, but mostly reassured Thor and Peter that she was being reasonable.  “Learn from this experience and never try to harm my little brother again,” she snarled and dropped Flash back to the trail.  Thor didn’t say a word about Loki’s punishment.  Loki had a feeling he didn’t disagree with it.  He would’ve said something had Loki been out of line.  

Peter seemed to breathe a sigh of relief that Flash had survived the experience and linked his arm with Loki’s.  “C’mon, Ladyloki,” he said as all one word, accepting Loki no matter what form Loki was in at any given time. “We’re lagging behind,”

Loki glared once more at Flash before she agreed to be dragged with Peter toward the campsite with the others, laughing at something Peter said a moment later.  Lady Loki’s laugh was infectious and Wanda and MJ were soon joining in the fun. 

And the teens all learned that Peter was an effective leash on Loki’s temper.

And never to mess with Loki’s adopted little brother. 

Under any circumstances.

Chapter Text

“We’re almost there!” one of the adults at the front of the trail of hikers called.  

The words caused an instant shift in Loki and Thor.  First, Loki shifted back to male form, at least until tonight when he was planning on sharing a tent with Wanda as Lady Loki.   It was safer for all of them if Loki was close by.  Her nightmares could get out of control too easily and they wouldn’t put the Midgardian children in danger, or make Wanda feel bad for an accident.  So Loki would be staying with her.  

Second, Thor raised his umbrella-shaped Mjolnir and summoned lightning as Loki used magic and both of them summoned their armor.  Not their full battle armor, but the most casual travel versions.  They were both treating this like a camping or hunting trip back home.  Thor strode forward to take the lead, Loki following just behind. These children and incompetent mortal adults were their charges for the weekend and they would make sure they made it safely through.  

Maybe letting the pair chaperone wasn’t the best idea.

Peter and Wanda hurried to catch up to try to keep the brothers out of too much trouble.  

Loki surveyed the campsite as soon as they arrived and he and Thor knew each other so well that they didn’t even need to discuss their plans.  One of the other adults came up to them while they were surveying, while the teens stared in awe at the display of power they had just witnessed.  He approached the brothers and started speaking.  “Hey guys.  I know being outdoors is strange for us city-folk.  I’ve done a ton of camping.  Let me show you-” 

Thor and Loki turned to the man at the same time with equal looks of disbelief.  “We are more experienced than you believe,” Thor finally told him so Loki wouldn’t just stab the man, who seemed to finally realize that the gods had a lot more experience than it seemed.  Loki summoned all of their supplies and Thor surveyed the campsite.  The kids were staring at them in awe and confusion.  “Children, gather here!” Thor called to get their attention.  The kids scrambled to obey while the adults watched on in shock and confusion as the brothers took charge.  

“We must set up the camp, the fire, and gather food and proper supplies before sunset,” Loki informed them all.  The brothers had also taken plenty of youths out on hunts and were used to leading such expeditions.  “The most effective way of accomplishing all of these goals is to play to our individual strengths,” the teens nodded along with rapt attention.  “For example, Thor is better at gathering firewood and lifting and carrying, while I, with my magic, can set a fire in moments, so my skills are put to better use setting up and magically shielding the camp while Thor hunts and gathers.  We are going to do that same thing here.” The teens looked concerned, as did the adults, but Thor and Loki seemed to both seem like they knew what they were doing, so they let them continue.  They’d step in if the Asgardians got out of hand.  Loki surveyed the teens and turned to Peter.  “Arachnid, the correct term for their groupings is… clique, correct?”

Peter nodded.  “Yes, there are the jocks, athletes,” he clarified quickly “the smart kids, artists and drama kids, and of course the delinquents,” he listed off a few of the groups. 

Loki nodded his thanks and pondered.  Thor let his brother think and plan. That was Loki’s area of expertise after all.  “Athletes with Thor, to gather firewood and dig latrines,” he barked out the order and the jocks rushed to obey, gathering by Thor.  “Intellectuals, you will be calculating supplies,”

“We brought-” one of the adults tried to interject until Loki glared at him.  He didn’t care if they brought supplies.  The children wouldn’t learn to get their own food if they ate off the supplies.  

“We need to calculate how many deer, boar, elk, etc, Thor and his group need to kill to feed a group of however-many teenagers, mortal adults, and two Asgardian warriors,” Loki told them when they had presented themselves. The nerds gathered near the fire-pit with their calculators, pencils, and the one kid who had cell phone reception to get to work.  “Artists, go into the woods and gather as much and many different plants and mushrooms as you can find.  We will determine if they are safe to eat and any magical or medicinal properties they contain upon your return.  Stay in pairs and do not wander too far.  Yell, loudly, if you run into trouble and one of us will come to your aid.  Drama and music students, begin assembling the tents, male students will sleep on that side of the fire, females on this side.  Those without a group, choose which task fits you best.  Wanda, you are with me.  We will be setting magical wards on our camp.  I expect there will be no one slacking off.  Any who attempt it will not like the results,” Loki threatened and the kids scrambled to obey.  

The adults looked downright impressed at how efficiently the Asgardians had dealt with the teens and spread out to help the different groups.  

“Impressive using the cliques to split them into groups,” Peter praised Loki.  Loki preened under the praise.  “They get to work with their friends, and you picked skills they would actually be good at.  Smart move getting the drama kids to build the tents.  They build all the sets for the plays.” Peter knew well how Loki reacted to praise.  And this praise was easy, Loki had done a really good job.

“Thank you, Arachnid,” Loki replied and ruffled Peter’s hair.  “Keep the other children away while Lady Wanda and I set the wards on the camp,” he told Peter, who nodded in reply.  Peter could distract and otherwise occupy anyone from doing anything.  The kid’s never-ending supply of conversation was good for something.  Peter stood guard nearby, while chatting with Ned and the nerds about the task Loki had given them.  

Loki sat cross-legged in midair and gestured for Wanda to sit across from him.  After a moment’s hesitation she did, sitting cross-legged in midair as well.  It was a strange sight to the humans who weren’t used to seeing magic.  Wanda usually tried to keep pretty low-key about her abilities around the mortals, especially around those she went to school with. Loki held his hands out palm up and she set hers on top of his palm down.  Red power glowed softly around her and Loki’s power shimmered green around him.  They sat like that for a long while as Loki taught her how to create a warding around the campsite.  A bubble of power spread out from the pair, shimmering with their combined power.  It grew and grew and eventually surrounded the entire campsite and a short distance beyond.   

Loki gave her a warm smile as he stepped down from where he was sitting in midair and helped her to do so as well.  He steadied her when she swayed.  “Very well done, little one,” he told her warmly and helped her sit on one of the tree stumps next to the fire-pit.  “Rest for a little while,” he told her and handed her a bottle of water.  “That was quite a big spell for a novice,”

She gave him a warm, proud, exhausted smile.  “Thanks, Loki,” praise from Loki was rare.  She sipped obediently on the bottle of water, but fell into a bit of a daze.  

“Arachnid, keep an eye on Lady Wanda,” Loki told Peter when she was settled and seemed steady enough.  Peter nodded. 

“Why does he keep calling you ‘arachnid’?” one of the nerds asked Peter.  Peter gave Loki a frantic look, panicked at his classmates finding out the truth. 

“Peter’s internship occasionally requires trips to the tower.  He was so nervous and starstruck at being around so many superheroes that he stayed in the corner like a spider his entire first visit,” Loki made up, lying effortlessly.  He shrugged.  “The name stuck.” The nerds chuckled, but no one questioned Loki’s story, or put together that Peter was Spiderman.  So it was all good.

Even if Peter weren’t particularly pleased with the story Loki had made up.  

A slightly embarrassing story was worth his secret identity remaining intact.  

And really, the story wasn’t that embarrassing.

Soon Thor and his group came back with firewood and Loki started the fire with magic.  The tents were erected and Thor’s group went back out to hunt for dinner. They had set snares when they first arrived.  Thor was appalled that so few of the students knew how to hunt and taught them the basics where thankfully none of the mortal adults could hear.

When the artists returned with plants, Loki carefully went over each plant, mushroom, and herb with them, teaching them which ones were edible.  “This one is never to be eaten.  It’s only purpose is in the creation of poisons and certain nasty potions which even I shall not be teaching you about,” Loki informed them and tossed the plant into the fire before it could cause trouble.  “Who found this?” he asked as he held up a root that looked like a legume.  One of the girls shyly raised her hand.  “Very well done, Lady.” She sighed in relief that she wasn’t getting smited.  “These will make an excellent addition to the stew,”

They somehow had enough stew with the legumes, mushrooms, and the deer Thor had brought down to feed everyone.  After that, the group sat around telling stories around the fire.  Which was really just Thor and Loki telling stories from Asgard while they drank ale and mead.  

Once it got too late, the other adults insisted the teens needed to go to their tents and at least pretend to sleep.  Peter was sharing a tent with Ned.  Thor had his own, since he snored.  Lady Loki would be sharing with Wanda, but Loki stayed up with the other adults, who would be partaking in the alcohol once the kids went to bed.  

When Loki went to take care of business at the latrine a female voice spoke up behind him.  “Turn me back!” Flash demanded, glaring up at Loki.  The effect was lessened in a female form she didn’t know how to control effectively.  

Loki gave her a look.  “I will not.  I told you the terms of returning to your usual form.  Perhaps this experience will teach you to be more kind to those who are unlike you,” Loki replied with a shrug.  He would turn her back on the way home from the weekend.  And he secretly hoped that Flash hadn’t learned the lesson this time so he could add another goat to Peter’s collection of ugly stupid goats.  That would be an appropriate punishment for the bully.

“Turn me back now, fag ass bitch,”

Loki didn’t know what a “fag ass bitch” was supposed to be, but he determined it was most definitely an insult when Flash swung at him.  Loki caught the punch effortlessly.

“Moronic child,” he told Flash with a growl as he held the teen’s fist in his hand, halting the kid’s movement.  “I warned you not to mess with Peter.  I am a warrior and have a thousand years of combat experience.  Did you seriously think you could best me with a weak punch from a body you are not used to?  Pathetic.  I should kill you where you stand for the insult alone.  But that would upset Peter.  Instead, I will give you the chance to cool off and consider yourself lucky I am not doing worse.  You know perfectly well what I am capable of,” he snarled at Flash before he lifted the teen bodily and threw her into the creek, which he blew frost on just for spite.  The brief cold wouldn’t hurt the teen.  The temperature was warm enough Flash would be fine once the teen got back to the fire.  

Flash spluttered and protested and Loki went about his way.  He was inordinately proud of himself for dealing with the teen without magic or permanently harming him. 

Peter would be proud too.  

Loki whistled on his way back to tell Peter the news before Peter actually went to his tent.

Chapter Text

Loki made it back to camp from his trip to the latrine ditch and found Peter before the teen went to his tent.  “What’s the number?” Peter asked concerned when he saw Loki strolling too casually back into camp. 

“Two,” Loki replied with a grin.  It was rare for Loki to get below two.  He was the god of mischief and chaos after all.  But a two was a good sign that the god was in a good mood.  

Peter mimicked one of Loki’s favorite expressions and raised an eyebrow.  “Why only a two?  The teenagers must be annoying you by now, witch,” he teased.  

“I am not a witch,” Loki grumbled, but it was half-hearted.  “Flash tried to cause more trouble,” he told Peter with a grin.  

Thor overheard and rushed over to where the pair was standing outside of Peter’s tent.  Thor had a mug of ale in his hand.  They didn’t care that there wasn’t supposed to be alcohol on this trip.  Besides, ale wasn’t alcohol… at least it wasn’t according to the Asgardians.

“Brother, what did you do to the child?” he demanded, concerned for the teen.  They weren’t allowed to harm the children.  That was the first rule they’d all told Loki repeatedly before they let him go on this camping trip. Loki was not allowed to stab the children. 

Loki grinned. “I did not kill or stab the child!” he told Peter proudly.  Peter grinned at Loki’s reaction, and his child-like search for praise for something that should’ve been automatic: not killing or stabbing someone.

“Good job, Loki,” he replied with a touch of sarcasm.  Loki chuckled and ruffled Peter’s hair.  They were joking around and it was fun.  The god found he enjoyed being able to relax around his young blood-brother.  

“So what did you do with the child?” Thor asked, calmer now since Loki tended not to lie to Peter, though he was curious what had gotten into Loki to actually obey and not harm the child who was causing so much trouble. 

“Flash called me a very rude name, so I threw her in the creek to cool off.  It was not deep and did not do more than get her cold and wet.  She will be fine,” Loki reassured Thor and Peter who were both concerned.  Just because Loki hadn’t killed her didn’t mean he hadn’t done something equally bad to her.  In this case, he hadn’t. Mostly because it would upset Peter. 

Peter laughed.  “Well handled,” he told Loki brightly, clearly amused at the thought of Flash being thrown into a creek.  “I should get to bed before the real chaperones yell,” he teased Loki and Thor.  They were supposed to only have come as extra adults bodies to make sure the teens didn’t kill themselves or get lost while the mortal adults took them through the planned activities for the weekend.  They weren’t expecting Loki and Thor to take over the entire weekend to make sure the children were taught proper wilderness skills. 

They should have expected the Asgardian warriors to do that exact thing.

“Sleep well, arachnid,” Loki told his friend fondly and he and Thor wandered back to the bonfire to spend time with the adult Midgardians.  They sat by the campfire with the adults, who had all snuck alcohol on the trip, and told stories with them.  The Asgardians of course had the best stories.

And the best alcohol, since Thor got out the good stuff after all the children were asleep.

Loki called it a night before he got drunk.  He stood and clapped Thor on the shoulder before he shifted forms to Lady Loki.  None of them wanted any accusations of inappropriate behavior since Loki would be sharing a tent with Wanda.  Though the adults were too drunk to notice anything at that point of the evening.  Thor took Loki’s hand and kissed her knuckles, which made Loki huff and roll her eyes, even if it was the proper court action on Thor’s part.  “Sleep well, sister,” Thor told her.

Loki softened a little from her defensive walls and nodded.  “And you, brother,” she replied and headed off to her tent.  

Of course Loki’s tent was fancier and nicer than anyone’s but Thor’s and Peter’s.  She had crafted it with magic and had comfort in mind.  So she and Wanda both had real beds instead of sleeping bags.  Wanda was asleep already when Loki entered the tent.  It had been a long day for her and controlling her powers in such close proximity with all of her classmates so close had been difficult on her.  Her eyes cracked open when Loki came in. Loki had crafted a small ball of witchlight to see her way to her bed and hadn’t meant to wake Wanda. “Loki, is everything ok?” she asked softly.  Wanda had been through so much and was understandably concerned.  

“Everything is just fine, little witch.  Are you having fun?” Loki asked her, concerned. She would teleport Wanda home if she were uncomfortable.  Loki was very overprotective of her student and newest friend.  

Wanda nodded and gave Loki a sleepy smile. “None of the adults know how to deal with you and Thor.  It’s funny,” she told Loki. Loki could hear the exhaustion in her voice.  

Loki nodded. “It’s quite amusing indeed,” she told Wanda, warmly.  “You’ve done a wonderful job today, now go back to sleep,” she bid her student.  Wanda nodded and settled back among her blankets to go back to sleep.  Loki smiled warmly and prepared for bed herself.

*

Wanda thankfully had no nightmares that night, though they were all grateful Loki had been nearby just in case.  Her nightmares affected her powers and she could level the entire camp during a bad night.  There were protections at the tower.  Here, the protections were Loki being nearby.  

Loki allowed the midgardian adults to make the pancakes for breakfast that they had brought in their supplies.  Loki’s love of pancakes and sweets was well-known, which is the only reason they got away with not living off the land.

No one remembered what the kids were supposed to be learning that day.  Instead, Lady Loki taught all of the girls basic self defense while Thor was teaching the boys the same.  They taught their groups how to track animals, find nests, anything they could about how to survive in the woods with no supplies.  Loki kept up with magic lessons with Wanda, using mediation to help her control her powers. They worked at it every afternoon and the other students watched the more active part of the lessons.  

They were incredibly interested when Loki and Thor decided to spar each other.  The students formed a wide circle and bets were placed on which brother would win.  Most were on Thor, of course.  They thought Loki at a disadvantage since she was female at the moment.  They also thought Thor the better fighter.  Loki summoned her daggers and Thor took Mjolnir from where it was pretending to be a keychain on his belt.  Mjolnir turned back to normal and the kids all looked impressed with the bit of magic from both of them. Except Peter and Wanda who had seen such antics before. “These are dull training blades,” Loki reassured the mortals.  “My brother shall not be harmed,” 

Thor grinned.  “Because I shall win,” he replied and with that the two burst into action.  Loki made sure while they were fighting that there were opportunities to demonstrate the moves they had taught to the kids earlier that day.  Both siblings were pleased to hear the kids’ excitement when they recognized a move and saw its application. 

Loki and Thor were about equally matched.  They had trained together for centuries and knew each other’s moves well.  Thor tended to fight like a tank, taking blows until he had an opportunity to strike with a huge blow.  Loki was quick and ducked in for a few small blows and ducked back out again before she got hit.  

Loki ended up getting Thor on his back with one of her daggers at his throat.  The other… much lower on his body.  “Yield!” Thor told her quickly. Loki smirked.  “It was just to teach the children not to gamble,” Thor insisted as he stood. Loki, Peter, and Wanda were among the first to laugh at the oaf. 

That evening, after a meal of stew, as that made the hunted and gathered items stretch farther, the group sat around the campfire again telling ghost stories.  Thor told a story of a haunted forest he and Loki had to clear out of spirits.  Loki made up the most chilling tale he could think of.  The frightening tale had all of the teens terrified and Loki smirked at her achievement. 

Loki looked around the circle of students around the fire, looking for her charges.  Peter and Ned were listening to the stories nearby.  MJ was sitting close, but there was an empty spot next to here where Wanda had been sitting.  Loki shifted back to male, sensing danger.  He was perfectly capable of dealing with danger in either form, but the Midgardians were more afraid of men than of women, and some still feared him for the alien invasion.  

“Brother?” Thor asked from beside Loki, tankard of ale in his hand.  He knew the look in Loki’s eyes well.  Loki shook his head.  He wouldn’t get Thor involved until he was sure there was trouble.  Thor nodded, he would let Loki keep his council until Thor was needed.  Loki was good at sniffing out trouble and the brothers would handle whatever it was together.

Loki stood and set his tankard aside.  He didn’t much care for ale, but he would suffer for the camping weekend, instead of bringing mead just to drink it alone. He cast out his senses as he left the circle of the firelight, searching out the trouble he sensed as well as his wayward student.  He didn’t track her, though he could if he needed to.  He followed the sense of trouble, it was a miasma of malicious chaos in the air.  

And chaos was of the god’s nature.  

“L-let me go,” he heard Wanda’s shaky voice, full of fear.  Loki’s hackles rose.  The girl was beginning to be like a little sister to him and he hated hearing her so frightened.  He didn’t rush in, though, he was more cautious than that. They were just outside the circle of firelight, just outside of earshot of the adults.  

Flash had Wanda backed against one of the trees.  Wanda didn’t like conflict or using her powers to harm others unless it was absolutely necessary.  “Come on, Wanda.  You’re the only girl in school who I haven’t dated yet. Besides the lesbians, of course, and we know you’re not one of them. I’ve seen you flirting with that stupid Parker boy,”

“He’s just a friend, Flash.  I’m not interested in anyone,” Wanda protested.  “I don’t want to date you,” she told him firmly, though her voice was afraid.  

Loki slipped closer to the pair.  Even as a female, Flash towered over her.  Loki hadn’t changed him more than just changing his gender.  Flash had Wanda backed against a tree, her hands on either side of Wanda’s head and Wanda was cringed back against the tree, unsure of what to do. 

“C’mon, Wanda,” Flash purred and leaned in to kiss her.  “You know you want to,”

“NO!” Wanda shouted and a red shield of magic surrounded her, throwing Flash away from her.  

Flash growled and started forward as the adults ran over to find out what was going on.  Loki moved faster than Flash could see and grabbed the teen by the back of the neck.  “The lady said no,” Loki told Flash firmly.

“She was stringing me on!” Flash complained to the adults, begging them to help.  

“Lies,” Loki snarled, his nose wrinkling as it usually did when he was confronted with a lie.  Peter rushed over too and approached the terrified Wanda.  Loki was proud that Peter showed no fear of Wanda with her powers so nearly out of control.  

“Hey, Scarlet, it’s just me,” Peter soothed her from outside of her shield bubble and gave her his trademark grin.  Of course Peter had come up with a nickname, even if it was just a shortening of her superhero name.  “I’m not going to hurt you.  And Uncle Thor and Loki are here too,” he added.  Wanda nodded and let her shield fade, wrapping her arms around Peter when he offered the hug.  

“What is going on here?” Thor boomed, ending the chaos in an instant the second he was sure Wanda was alright.  She was safe with Peter and the two could defend themselves.

“Nothing!” Flash insisted.  “She was leading me on.  She’s a tease,”

Loki’s grip on her neck tightened.  “Lies,” Loki snarled.  “I am the god of lies, child.  Do not try to lie in my presence.” Thor inclined his head in agreement.  Loki couldn’t stand lies during interrogations. “Plus, I heard the entire thing.  This mewling quim tried to force Wanda into a relationship and into kissing her, despite Wanda clearly turning down the advances,” Loki snarled the explanation.

“Those are strong allegations…” one of the adults said nervously.  “We’ll have to take it before the school board…”

Loki looked at Peter.

“The school version of human resources,” Peter explained, knowing Loki would remember how useless human resources had been in helping Aunt May with her problem.

Loki nodded, a malicious glint in his eyes.  “Then let us speed this along.  Flash will be causing no more trouble for this weekend,” he snarled.

“Loki-” Thor said warningly, but made no move to stop whatever Loki was going to do while Flash looked terrified.  

An instant and a shimmer of green magic later and there was an ugly stupid goat where Flash had been.

Chapter Text

Loki set up a magic pen to hold the goat while the Midgardian adults argued with Thor.  They knew better than to try to argue with Loki.  Loki was unreasonable.  Thor at least, they had a chance of getting to see reason.  Except in this case, Wanda had been harmed.  Thor didn’t take kindly to Wanda being harmed.  None of the Avengers would.

When Thor was safely dealing with the adults and the goat was contained, Loki opened his arms and Wanda ran over to him, throwing herself into his arms.  Loki had learned a lot about hugging since the two teens had come into his life.  He wrapped his arms around her and stroked her hair.  “Shh, witchling.  It’s alright.  You’re safe,” he reassured her, his voice gentle and soothing as he held her to him. “Calm down, you’re alright,” he soothed as her magic sparked around her.  No one else dared approach the pair until Loki got her calm.

At least the adults finally seemed to believe them all when they saw Wanda in that state.

Slowly, Wanda’s nerves calmed and her power resettled.  “Very good, witchling,” Loki told her proudly when she’d pulled in her control over her powers.

He still held her close while the adults were arguing.  They’d gotten the school-board and the rest of the Avengers on the phone.  While Loki was calming Wanda, the rest of the adults had come to an agreement.  Thor had approved and gave Loki a nod to indicated that he had approved the plan when it was presented to Loki.  Loki accepted his brother’s judgement.  Loki would turn Flash back when they returned to the school.  Flash was already suspended (for getting all of the Avengers pissed at the school) and would be facing further punishments when he faced the principal when the buses all returned to school.  Loki reluctantly agreed, because he was promised that Flash would be punished further.  And that suspension was a big deal.

Loki led Wanda back to the campfire, Peter bouncing along beside the pair.  She sat between Loki and Peter and relaxed when they were back to talking about the last mission they’d all gone one.  Something nice and normal, at least normal in their twisted definition of the word.

*

Loki graciously used magic to pack up the entire campsite before they left, clearing any tracks that the group had been there.  The goat was loaded on one of the buses.  Loki had only agreed to turn Flash back when they returned to the school.   He wasn’t turning the goat back until they reached the school and Thor wasn’t inclined to make him.

The trip home was much less eventful than the trip there, as Loki was tired from using so much magic to pack up the entire camp.  So he slept most of the way home while Peter and Wanda guarded him to keep the teenagers from bothering him.  Most of the kids slept the whole was home too.  It had been a big weekend for all of them.

When they got off the buses at the school, the groggy grumpy Loki reluctantly turned Flash back into his proper form.  The principal and Captain America were both there to read the bully the riot act. Loki looked smug at the bully being terrified by Captain America, Iron Man, and soon Thor.  In uniform.

Bad guys couldn’t stand against the might of the big three of the Avengers without wetting themselves.

Loki smirked knowing the kid stood no chance.

He hoped this time the moronic teen learned not to mess with his family.

*

A few days later, Loki found himself pacing the bifrost circle next to the tower.  There were runes permanently etched into the earth there from how many times Thor called the bifrost to that spot.  Now, Loki was waiting for Frigga to arrive.  Impatiently.

Extremely impatiently.

“Calm, brother.  Mother will be here soon.  The bifrost is perfectly safe,” Thor reassured him from where he was standing nearby.  Peter and Wanda were waiting with Thor, their schoolbags on the ground next to them as they had to head to class soon.  Happy was actually waiting to give them a ride so they wouldn’t be late, but both had insisted on getting to meet Frigga before they went to school and no one could say no to the pouting teens.

“She is late,” Loki replied stiffly as he resumed his pacing, magic sparking around his fingertips.  Wanda looked surprised to see Loki’s control so shaken.  He was always so in control of his powers, always harping on her to maintain control.

“What number, witch?” Peter asked.

“Five, going on six,” Loki snarled automatically with a plaintive look at the sky.

Peter grinned and stepped toward the angry god.  “She’s just fine, Loki.  She would’ve sent word if there was trouble.  Besides, she’s not even five minutes late,”

“She is my mother.  And she is never late,” Loki replied, but softened a little when he addressed Peter.  He didn’t like upsetting his friend.

Peter gave Loki a reassuring smile.  “She’ll be here soon,”

No sooner had he spoken the words that the Bifrost opened.  Loki took a step back, dragging Peter with him to make sure he was out of the way.  Two figures descended from Asgard when they’d only been expecting one.  Loki rushed forward when Frigga arrived and wrapped his arms around his mother, while her arms went around his neck and she kissed his cheek.  He seemed to deage, giving her a child’s affection and love.

He was such a mama’s boy.

Thor grinned at the other newcomer and went straight to her while Frigga was busy with Loki.  Thor lifted Lady Sif in his arms and spun her in a circle, clearly delighted to see her.  That was made even more clear when her arms went around his neck while he held her off the ground and their lips were locked in a passionate kiss.

Yes.

Thor had missed Lady Sif quite a lot it seemed.

“I’ve missed you, my son,” Frigga told Loki warmly as she held him tightly.  Hie face went to the crook of her neck and he was content to hold her in his embrace.

“And I have missed you dearly, mother,” he replied fondly.  He finally let her go after a long minute.  They both looked at Thor and Sif whose lips were still locked.

Frigga cleared her throat and the pair jumped apart to the giggles of Wanda and Peter, while Thor turned red at being caught making out with Sif in front of his mother.  But really, what did he expect when he was kissing Sif not five feet from Frigga?  Thor went to Frigga and kissed her cheek when he regained his composure. “It’s wonderful to see you mother,” he told her warmly as she kissed his cheek in return.

Loki stepped forward, gesturing to the teens and drawing Frigga’s attention to them.  “Thor and I will introduce you to the entire team shortly, however, I wished to make special introductions to these members, especially as they are both still in school and must get to their lessons,” he explained.  Frigga inclined her head in understanding.  She was hardly one to drag a young mind away from their education.  Loki gestured to Wanda first.  “This is my magic student, Wanda Maximoff,” he said proudly and Wanda lit up that he was proud to have her as a student. “Wanda, this is my mother, Frigga, queen of Asgard,” Loki told her warmly.  Frigga smiled warmly, not only at Loki’s student, but at the warmth in Loki’s tone.  He had thawed out a lot in his time on Midgard, it seemed.

“It’s an honor to meet you, ma’am,” Wanda replied and dipped a curtsy, though Loki had no idea where she’d learned that.

She squeaked in surprised when Frigga hugged her instead.  “And an honor to meet you as well, dear,” she replied warmly and when the girl started to splutter a protest at being hugged by the queen, Frigga laughed.  “Dear, my rank has no meaning here on Midgard.  I am simply a mother, visiting her sons and their friends,”

Wanda was red at all the attention and kindness from the queen when she finally stepped back from Frigga’s embrace.  She grabbed her school bag.

Loki pulled Peter forward, wrapping his arm around the teen’s shoulder.  Peter grinned at Loki initiation contact for once.  It was rare.  “And this is Peter Parker,” Loki had been thinking long and hard about how to explain his relationship with Peter to his mother.  He was afraid she wouldn’t understand.  Would think less of him for his best friend being a Midgardian child.  Even if they were of roughly the same age, when one considered lifecycle equivalencies.  “He was my first friend on Midgard and quickly became my closest.  To the point that I claim him as a blood brother,” he told his mother nervously and they all waited with bated breath for her response.

Would she accept Peter?

Would she accept that Loki was happy?

Would she accept the relationship, platonic as it was, between the two young men?  

Or would she, like Odin, shatter Loki’s heart?

Chapter Text

Loki needen’t have worried.

At all.

Frigga came forward and hugged them both around the neck, though Loki had to bend over for her to reach. He minded oh so much.  He loved any contact from Frigga that he could get.  “Any blood brother of my son is a son of mine,” she told them and kissed each of their cheeks in turn. 

Peter blushed red as Frigga stepped back while Loki lit up in pure excitement that his beloved mother had accepted his blood brother.  Peter looked up at Loki. “Did your mom just adopt me?” he asked in a shocked whisper.

Loki chuckled.  “That she did,” he agreed and ruffled Peter’s hair affectionately, while Peter gaped at just being automatically adopted by Frigga.  Though that’s what Frigga did.  All of Thor’s friends she treated as her own children.  Of course she would do the same for Loki’s.  Especially a friend he cared for enough to claim as a brother.  “You should head to class, Arachnid.  You and Aunt May will be having dinner with us tonight,” he reminded the teen.  “Happy will pick you up, so do not be late getting home from patrol,”

Peter grinned. “Whatever you say, witch,” he teased.  Loki rolled his eyes, but didn’t complain any further in front of his mother.  He looked to Frigga and offered her a polite smile.  “It was a pleasure to meet you ma’am. We’ll see you tonight.”  Peter and Wanda both waved before they rushed off to make it to class on time.  It was a good thing Happy was driving them or they never would have made it on time.  At least not unless Loki teleported them.  Which he’d done for Wanda exactly once, since she’d been out all night on a mission and he’d taken pity on her.  

Loki turned to Frigga and offered her his arm.  “Would you care to meet the rest of the team, mother?” he asked her warmly.   

She took his arm with a bright smile.  “I would love to meet the rest of your friends, darling,” she told him warmly.  

The four of them started to head inside.  “They are more Thor’s friends than mine,” Loki warned her.  Besides Peter and Wanda, the rest of the team were pretty much all Thor’s friends.  Though Bucky and Loki had become close over shared experiences (and Loki healing Bucky’s abused mind), and the rest of the team was friendly with him, except Stark, who tolerated his presence.  Loki and Stark had agreed on a truce while Frigga was in town. 

“I am sure they are your friends as well, darling,” Frigga told Loki reassuringly, as she had his entirely life when he complained about Thor’s idiot friends and not having friends of his own.  

The team was gathered around the common room when the trio returned and they all stood to be introduced to the queen of Asgard.  Everyone was equally polite and Clint had even made pancakes for Frigga, at Loki’s request.  “This is my favorite Midgardian food,” Loki told Frigga warmly as he pushed her chair in at the dining room table.  

“Then I must try it,” she replied just as warmly.  Clint looked nervous when he placed the stack of pancakes in front of Frigga.  No one wanted to upset the kindhearted queen.  Knowing what they did of Asgardians, they didn’t want to see her upset.  She or her sons would kill them where they stood and not feel a drop of remorse.  They didn’t need to worry about the gentle, caring Frigga, though.  Once everyone was served, she took her first bite of pancakes and nearly moaned in pleasure over them, just as Loki always did.  “These are wonderful,” she told Clint approvingly and wish such open honest that Clint actually blushed as he accepted the praise.   

After breakfast, Thor and Loki took Frigga and Sif around New York to see the sights of Midgard.  Loki and Peter had been working to create an itinerary of fun things to do that Loki’s beloved mama would love.  Loki had also gotten Stark to give up Happy for the day to drive them around.  Tony had also gotten them VIP passes to anything they wanted to do.  He wanted to stay on Frigga’s good side as much as anyone else did. 

They took Frigga to museums and she loved seeing Midgard’s art and history.  They did all the touristy things with her, seeing the statue of liberty, times square, and even caught a matinee on broadway.   Loki found himself identifying a little too much with the green witch in the show who no one loved.  But Frigga adored the show and adored the ‘darling green witchling’, which warmed Loki’s heart.

The press followed them around all day and Loki and Thor kept having to apologize that they were a bit famous here and the press always wanted to know what they were up to. Frigga shook it off.  She was a queen after all and used to drawing attention when she went out.  Sif didn’t care, she was happy to spend the day on Thor’s arm.  The pair kept sneaking kisses when they thought Frigga wasn’t looking.  Frigga kept exchanging knowing looks with Loki over the pair and he chuckled at her delighted matchmaking.

“Is that why you brought Lady Sif along with you?” Loki asked her as they wandered around the zoo admiring the Midgardian animals. 

Frigga laughed. “Only partly, your father insisted that I bring a guard with me,” she explained.  Odin was overprotective of his wife.  Of course he’d made her bring a guard and Lady Sif certainly qualified.  It was just a bonus that Frigga got to do some matchmaking while she was at it. 

“Hey Loki! What’s the number today?” Peter asked as he dropped from a web next to them.  

Loki smiled over at the teen. “One.  We are having quite an enjoyable day, Arachnid,” Loki told him.  He turned to Frigga and added. “Spiderman searches the city after school most days looking for people to help,” he had told her already about Peter’s alias and why he hid his identity from the people.  

Frigga smiled warmly at the masked teen.  “It was kind of you to check up on us, darling.” Loki could sense Peter’s blush under the mask, though of course he couldn’t see it.  He couldn’t help chuckling at the easily steamrolled teen. 

“Have you eaten, yet?” Loki asked him.  Peter shook his head.  Loki huffed and rolled his eyes as he pulled a twenty from his wallet, which he pulled from the back pocket of his suit pants.  “Your metabolism is much faster than a normal human’s.  On top of that, you’re a growing boy.  Make sure you get something to eat,” he told the teen.

Peter grinned and accepted the twenty.  He never went asking for money, but he wouldn’t deny it, especially since he knew it came from Stark’s “feed Peter” fund.  Loki didn’t know or care if he had his own money on Midgard.  He was perfectly happy to use Stark’s instead.

“That was my next stop,” Peter reassured Loki.  “I’m glad you guys are having fun.  I’ll see you tonight at dinner.  Aunt May is excited to go.  She said Mr. Stark got us into the fanciest restaurant in town,” he turned to address Frigga.  “See you tonight, Mrs…” he paused, lost and confused as to what to call Frigga.  He looked to Loki for help.  “Odinson isn’t right,” he said, but didn’t know what the proper polite form of address was for Loki’s mother, especially since she didn’t want to go by royal title or address on Midgard.  

“You can just call me Frigga, darling,” Frigga tried to reassure the teen.  She wouldn’t be difficult on Loki’s friends and she really was just visiting as a mother.  This wasn’t a diplomatic mission. 

Loki chuckled. “Her proper title is ‘allmother’,” he supplied for the polite teen who would’ve died before he called an adult by their first name. “No Mrs.” He felt Peter’s relief at having a proper address that wouldn’t offend any of their sensibilities.  

He nodded to Frigga.  “Until later, Allmother,” he said before he shot a web at a building and took off.  

“He’s such a polite young man,” Frigga commented when Peter had gone.  

Loki chuckled.  “That he is.  It was months before I was addressed as anything other than ‘Mr. Loki’.  He keeps insisting his beloved aunt and uncle who raised him would have skinned him alive if he was caught being anything other than polite.  And now it is too ingrained in him to be anything otherwise.  He is unbelievably goodhearted,”

“And his question about the number today?” Frigga asked curiously as the pair moved to look at the giraffes.  Loki had been impressed the first time he had seen the giant creatures. 

Loki laughed again and explained Peter’s number system to her and how it had helped the pair bond.  He explained all about his blood brother and how the teen had gone far out of his way to befriend Loki.  Frigga absolutely adored the fond look on Loki’s face as he described his relationship with Peter and told his mother about their adventures.  She also saw how much he cared for the boy when he made sure the teen had eaten. 

“So… about that camping trip…” Frigga said with a smirk.

Loki gave her an incredulous look. He hadn’t told her about the camping trip. “Have you been spying, mother?” he accused.

She laughed.  “I couldn’t help checking up on you, my darling.  Though, I must admit that you and Thor attempting to camp with Midgardians was wonderful entertainment for sitting in front of the scrying mirror with those cinnamon candied nuts the chefs know I adore,” she teased.  

“Mother!” Loki huffed indignant and horrified.  She’d gone all day pretending to have never seen Wanda and Peter before and she’d been sitting watching them on the equivalent of Asgardian TV.  

“What did our beloved mother do, Loki?” Thor asked as he and Sif caught up with them.

“She scried on us through the entire camping trip!” Loki protested, his cheeks turning red in embarrassment at some of the things they’d done on that trip.  Including turning Flash into a goat.

Thor turned red too.  “Mother…” he protested.  The boys may have acted differently had they known their mother had been watching their actions.

Frigga laughed and cupped Loki’s cheek.  He closed his eyes and leaned into her touch as he always did.  Poor thing was always so touch-starved.  “You acted admirably, my darling.  You handled the Midgardians well, including that troublesome one who threatened your student.  I’m proud of you, my son,”

I’m proud of you

It was exactly what Loki needed to hear from Frigga and he pulled her into a hug.

“Thank you, Mother,” he told her softly enough that Thor wouldn’t be able to hear.  “Thank you,”

Chapter Text

That evening, the team in formal dress gathered at the restaurant that Tony had made reservations at.  It really was the fanciest restaurant in the city and looked impressive, even from the outside. Frigga absolutely loved the limo ride and was impressed with the creativity of the Midgardians.  She wore one of her formal Asgardian gowns, a beautiful golden dress that the adorable little assassin girl, Lady Natasha she remembered, had insisted would fit in with Midgardian style.  Loki was, of course, wearing his perfectly tailored all black suit. Even Thor had dressed nicely for the occasion and had Sif, in and actual dress, on his arm. 

Of course Loki had his beloved mama on his arm as he escorted her into the restaurant.  It was comfortable and familiar, as he often escorted her around the palace.  She had taken his arm automatically.  

Aunt May and Peter were dropped off by Happy as they were starting to head for the door to the restaurant, so they waited for the pair.  Peter made quick introductions and he walked with Wanda so she wouldn’t be lonely as they headed into the restaurant.  The teen was wearing a button-down shirt, no tie.  He was just a kid after all.  Wanda had found a cute red dress to wear for the evening.  Loki smiled at his two closest friends as they chatted about school on their way into the restaurant, following Stark and Pepper. 

Aunt May walked in with Loki and Frigga.  Loki offered her his other arm automatically.  She was surprised for a moment, before she laughed at the actions of her nephew’s friend, and therefore her strange alien adopted teenager and took his offered arm.  She looked at Frigga.  “It’s wonderful to finally meet you.  Your son has told us all about you,”

“Good things, I hope?” Frigga replied, as any mother would, with a look at Loki, who laughed and kissed her temple.

“Only the best things about you, mother,” he replied warmly.  

Aunt May laughed. “I don’t believe he has a mean bone in his body, despite the rumors,” she told Frigga.  Loki heard that she actually meant it.  Despite that Loki had tried to take over the world, Aunt May actually thought well of him.  He was surprised, despite all he had done for her nephew.  He was still surprised that she didn’t hate him for trying to take over the world. He just couldn’t believe it.  

The group was led to their table in the banquet room and Loki pulled out his mother’s chair and Aunt May’s before he took his own next to his mother.  Seats were chosen and drinks ordered.  Every adult at the table made sure neither Peter nor Wanda tried to order any wine with their dinner.  Though of course, Loki did.  He was over a thousand years old after all.  

“You seem to have come to know my son quite well,” Frigga commented to Aunt May once the orders were placed.  

Aunt May lit up. “He comes over for dinner at least once a week.  He and Peter became fast friends,” she explained.  She went on to tell Frigga about how Loki helped Peter with his schoolwork, had been a great friend, a surprisingly good role model, and had above all, saved Peter years of medication and painful surgery to fix a medical condition the boy had had.  She didn’t clarify what that was.  Frigga would ask Loki later.  They weren’t exactly supposed to use their healing gifts on the Midgardians, especially not on terminal human illnesses, which is what Aunt May had made it sound like.  

It wasn’t true, but that was the conclusion Frigga had come to.  

/What did you heal for the child?/ Frigga asked Loki telepathically.  He could hear the slight disapproving tone to her voice.  He didn’t care for it at all.

/The boy was born in a girl’s body.  I corrected the problem for him/ Loki replied.  He would stand by his decision, even if his beloved mama didn’t approve.

Of course she would approve of this, though.  That bit of magic didn’t break the Allfather’s edicts on proper use of magic for healing Midgardians.  Even if it had, for how happy Frigga saw her Loki was, she wouldn’t have blamed him or told on him.  She had just needed to know how bad his transgression was.  

Luckily, it wasn’t a transgression in the slightest.

/I am glad you were able to do that for your blood brother.  He deserves to be happy/ Frigga replied and Loki sighed in relief that she wasn’t upset.  

The group told stories over the fancy dinner.  The team told of their adventures and trials and of villains they had faced.  Peter made up something about his fake internship and his school work.  Wanda even told Frigga about how her sons had helped save her from the people who had held her captive.

Toward the end of dinner, Frigga smiled a touch too innocently, which had both of her sons turning to watch her warily.  “Have my sons told you about the time they blew up a wing of the palace?” she asked innocently.

“MOTHER!” Thor and Loki both protested at the same time while everyone else at the table begged to hear the story.  Especially if Thor and Loki were both protesting it so much.  Peter in particular looked interested to hear a story where Thor and Loki were less than perfect and godly.

“This was around five hundred years ago,” Frigga reminisced, despite her sons’ protests and now their surly resignation to having the story told.  The rest of the table was dead silence as they listened to her tale.  “They decided that they wished to know what it felt like to be drunk,”

“It was Thor’s idea,” Loki grumbled under his breath, sourly.

Frigga pretended she hadn’t heard him interrupt her story.  “So they snuck into their father’s private stores of his best old alcohol.  The bottle they chose had been aged over a thousand years.  The hid in a spare room in an unused section of the palace so they wouldn’t be discovered.  And they may very well have not beed.  Except that magic and alcohol do not mix well.  Especially for mages who are not fully qualified.  Under that much alcohol, Loki completely lost control of his magic and the explosion destroyed the entire wing of the palace they’d been hiding in.  Thor’s powers went just as out of control and that wing, even rebuilt is nastily known for shocking people as they pass through.  At the time, there was lightning crawling over everything and two very unconscious… your word is teenagers,” Frigga told the team, who roared in laughter. 

Loki and Thor both turned red and grumbled.  “Mother left us to deal with the hangover alone in the dungeons.  And made us stay in the dungeons until the palace was repaired,” Thor grumbled.  It had been the longest he’d ever been grounded.  Loki had been grounded all the time as a child.  Thor, not so much since he was Odin’s favorite.

“The lesson taught you not to steal your father’s alcohol again.  Or get that drunk again,” Frigga told them with laughter in her tone.  The boys couldn’t argue that. Much as they wanted to. 

Chapter Text

The group continued telling stories throughout dinner, and the multitude of desserts that were served to the group.  Everyone seemed the most interested in Frigga’s stories, as they wanted to know more about young Thor and Loki.

The boys both groaned when she pulled out old stories to tell.  She told them about the day the boys accidentally led a stampede of bilgesnipe through the palace and straight to the throne.  They had looked about six at the time by Midgardian standards and had stumbled upon a herd when they’d been playing in the royal forest.  Both boys had been scared out of their minds and ran straight to their father for help.  He was livid at the damage, but had been so relieved that his boys were safe and had at least had the brains to get help before they were trampled by bilgesnipe.

She told them of ten year old Thor coming up with ‘get help’.

Loki groaned loudly at that story and buried his head in his hands so he didn’t have to relive the story.

He, however, was laughing in delight with the others when Frigga told the story of the creation of ‘my apologies’.  It was a tactic Loki had come up with and was his equivalent of ‘get help’.  It consisted of Thor bumbling around like an oaf knocking into things and spilling drinks on people while Loki followed behind him going “My apologies, my brother is so clumsy and such an oaf”.  By the time they made it through the room they were tricking, the secret scroll, map, or magical item they were after (along with quite a bit of gold or whatever else Loki fancied taking) would be in the brothers’ possession with none of the people the wiser until after the pair were long gone. 

“That’s brilliant!” Peter said approvingly.  Loki grinned across the table at his friend.

“I always thought so,” he replied with a smirk at Thor.

“It’s not,” Thor protested.  “I hate it, it’s humiliating,”

“Not for me, it’s not,” Loki replied.  “And I hate ‘get help’.  It is way more humiliating as you literally throw me at enemies,” Loki growled.  He loathed ‘get help’.  

Thor laughed.  “It is not humiliating for me,” he replied jovially and it took the fact that Frigga was sitting next to him for Loki not to draw his daggers and stab Thor across the table.  

He was mollified quickly when all of the desserts came out.

At least he was until Frigga held her palm up and with a shimmer of magic, showed the group holographic images of her sons growing up.  The team loved it.  Her sons wanted to crawl under the table and die since they couldn’t stop her. The only saving grace was that she didn’t pull out naked baby images.  It was a close call, though.  There was one of a young Thor teaching a younger Loki to walk; the boys sparring as children;  them coming back successfully from their first hunt alone dirty and injured, but successful and looking so proud; a teenage Thor in the foreground swinging a sword while Loki sat in the window-seat in the background reading; the brothers as young adults, Thor’s arm around Loki’s shoulders as the two both laughed over something; the look of exhausted pride when Loki passed his master magician trial; a formal event that had both brothers taking their place on the stairs before the throne of Asgard; the last was a formal portrait of the royal family and they all looked so happy in it. 

The team loved seeing that the Asgardians, while royal and literal gods, were also a family and were also just normal people living their lives.

Aunt May returned the favor, showing pictures to Frigga on her phone of Peter growing up. Loki laughed when it was Peter’s turn to wish he could crawl under the table and die.  “Aunt May~~” he whined, but that didn’t stop his aunt from sharing pictures. 

Eventually, the massive collection of desserts were eaten (mostly by Loki) and Tony paid the bill, not even cringing at the massive check, though anyone else at the table would have.  “Thanks, Mr. Stark.  It was a fantastic dinner,” Peter enthused as the group was leaving the restaurant.  

“Yes, it was lovely, thank you for inviting us,” Aunt May agreed.  She hugged Frigga and no one was one bit surprised. “It was lovely to meet you,” the two had bonded over their intelligent adopted sons and how similar it was raising them.  

Unshed tears brimmed in Peter’s eyes when he’d realized that Aunt May thought of him as her son.  He loved his aunt dearly, but he hadn’t even considered that she thought of him as a son and not just her nephew she’d taken in. Loki chuckled and wrapped his arm around the teen’s shoulders.  Peter gave him a lopsided grin in reply, relieved by Loki’s silent reassurance.

The group made their way out of the tower, laughing and talking as they headed back to the vehicles to return to the tower or Aunt May’s house in her and Peter’s case.  

Though they were Avengers and superheroes and used to things going wrong every time they were having five minutes of happiness, none of them were expecting the men with guns to appear out of nowhere.  None of them were expecting Hydra’s monsters to attack the group.

It was fairly obvious that the team was there that night.  Stark had made the reservations in his name, they’d arrived in limos, and the press had been there announcing their presence to the world. The group was so used to press everywhere they went that it hadn’t even crossed their minds that it might be a problem. 

It was a problem.

A definite problem.

The team circled automatically, pushing Aunt May and Pepper to the middle where they’d be protected. Loki saw the fear in Peter’s eyes.  He couldn’t fight this battle and keep his identity secret.  “Don’t fret, arachnid.  We will keep you safe,” Loki reassured him as he assessed the situation and as Peter was shoved into the middle of the circle with Aunt May and Pepper. 

With a shimmer of magic, Loki was in his battle armor, Thor raised Mjolnir to summon his own with lightning, Stark summoned one of his ironman suits through Jarvis, and Bruce summoned the Hulk, which still made Loki cringe.  Everyone else would be fighting in their formalwear. 

That wouldn’t do.  

“Hold still,” Loki told them and let his magic flow over the group. He found Frigga’s hand linked in his and smiled warmly as she added her magic to his.  In a moment, the group was in their battle armor and leapt into the fray.  Loki looked to Wanda who was new to fighting with the team and didn’t go on many missions.  “Wanda, stay with Sif and my mother, protect the civilians,” he told her, giving her a clear order, a clear duty.  

And his most important mission, though he didn’t say the words.

He didn’t give her the unspoken order, but she nodded, she understood what he wouldn’t say:

Protect my mother

None of them were expecting Frigga to draw a blade as long as her arm as armor shimmered into place over her formal gown.  None of them except the Asgardians were expecting that anyway.  Frigga had taught Loki to fight and Asgardians were a warrior race.  She, Sif, and Wanda moved the civilians away from the battle.

Loki breathed a sigh of relief when his loved ones were safe and joined the others in the battle.  He kept one eye on the group of civilians, proud of Wanda for doing so well keeping the others safe. He made a note to tell her as much later.  Praise from Loki was rare and she cherished every single instance of it when he was teaching her magic. 

The battle was harder than expected and raged for a long, long time.  The team was wearing thin when Loki was thrown across the battlefield by a giant.  He crashed at Frigga’s feet and struggled to get back to his feet quickly as the giant thundered over to them.  It tossed Sif aside effortlessly, heading straight for the defenseless civilians.  

For Loki’s family.

Loki growled as he got to his feet, jumping in front of Frigga to protect her.  He would do anything to protect his mother, including taking the blow himself. His dagger shattered at the giant’s blow and he was knocked off his feet again, one of his gauntlets shattered at the impact, his shoulder piece fractured at the blow.  His armor was damaged in other places, but he couldn’t focus on that now. 

“Loki?” Peter asked with fear in his eyes as well as his voice.  He couldn’t help.  His secret would be revealed if he helped, especially with Aunt May there.  There was no way to hide to change into his costume.  Aunt May had her arms around him, as if to protect him.  If only she knew.  

Wanda threw up a red shield to delay the giant, holding her hands up to keep it going.   She was still young and couldn’t attack while she was holding the shield.  Loki was just grateful she was inside the shield this time.  He’d drilled that into her during hours of magic lessons and he was glad it had stuck. 

The others were busy on the other monsters. 

Loki was alone in this fight.

Loki growled as he forced himself back to his feet as fast as his injured body would allow.

His mother, blood brother, and little sister were in danger.  In that moment he accepted that he had adopted Wanda as a little sister.  She was family to him too.  

His found family was in danger.

He had to defend them.  

He got between the giant and Wanda just in time, shoving her back before the giant could crush her skull with his bat, her shield had vanished under the pummelling from the giant’s bat.  Loki reached up and planted his feet, bracing himself with magic to catch the bat, to stop the momentum.

It nearly threw him off his feet again, but his magic held, his more than human strength held. 

He reached out to summon a blade and swung automatically when the handle was in his hand.  Centuries of combat experience had taught him never to drop his weapon, to let nothing surprise him in battle, to fight for his life and for those he loved. 

He still nearly dropped his weapon after he’d hit the giant with it.

He was in shock that it wasn’t one of his beloved daggers.

He was holding Mjolnir.

In fighting so hard to save his family, in that moment, he had become worthy.

Chapter Text

Loki stared at the hammer in his hand.  He couldn’t believe he was holding Mjolnir.  And not just in the manner of his admittedly mischievous youth where he tried to lift the thing more times than he cared to admit.  Hel, one of the last times he’d tried it, the damn thing had sparked lightning, burning his fingers.  

And now?

Now he was holding it.  

Wielding it.

He didn’t have time to worry about that at the moment.  The giant was back and as angry as ever.  Loki gripped the hammer more tightly and planted his feet.  Fighting with the hammer was much different than fighting with his daggers.  He was used to fighting on the balls of his feet, darting in jabbing a few times and darting out again before he got hurt.  Mjolnir was a stronger weapon, a heavier weapon, for all that it now felt light in Loki’s hand.  He had to plant his feet, shift his weight, throw his hips and his body weight into gaining the power he needed while he swung the hammer  ruthlessly into the giant’s head.

The giant went flying.  For all that Loki was thinner and less obviously muscled than his brother, he was still a trained warrior, still muscled and combat trained.  He knew more weapons than his beloved daggers, they were just his specialty. 

The giant crashed on the other side of the battle and Loki could stare for another moment at the hammer in his hands, disbelieving that he was actually wielding it.  After centuries of dreaming of being worthy, he was actually wielding it. 

“Brother, I know you’re pleased to be worthy, but I could really use my hammer back!” Thor called across the battlefield.  

Loki smirked and did something he had wanted to do since he was a small child.  

He chucked Thor’s stupid hammer at Thor’s stupid head as hard as he could.

He lit up in glee as the hammer flew across the battlefield to his brother.  His glee was slightly diminished with the fact that Thor caught the hammer, but it was still there in the fact that he’d been able to throw the hammer.  It would’ve been so much sweeter had it smacked Thor in the nose.  

He might’ve been a touch vindictive over being tormented with that stupid hammer for years.

Just a touch.

He turned his attention back to the battle, summoning his dagger in one hand and a bolt of magic in the other.  The creatures were swarming, coming to attack the civilians.  

It was then that something happened that none of them expected.

Even the Asgardians.

Or perhaps especially the Asgardians.

Frigga stepped forward, away from the circle of protection, away from where Wanda was shielding the civilians, away from pretending she was a civilian.  Soft golden power glowed around her as she stepped forward to face the charge of creatures, her blade held expertly in her hand.

“Mother?” Loki asked, overflowing with worry for his beloved mama.

She gave him a reassuring smile.  “Together, my son.  We will protect our family together,” she told him warmly.  Loki nodded and the pair rushed into the battle.  Loki stayed close to his mother, but he needen’t have worried.  She was beyond skilled on the battlefield and Loki was forced to remember that she had taught him how to fight all of those centuries ago.  

The pair were blurs as they fought and they fought identically with speed and deadly skill as their blades blurred and magic shown as they threw spells at their enemies.  

The creatures turned on them, recognizing the pair for the threat that they were.  There was no fear in either of them when they found themselves surrounded by enemies.  Frigga simply reached for Loki’s free hand.  He held her hand in his, their power combining around their joined hands.  Without needing words, they both sank into their power, both sank to the depths of that well of strength inside them.  

The spell didn’t need to be spoken as they ascended, bringing every drop of magic they could muster with them.  Power exploded from them, leveling the battlefield and turning every enemy to dust, leaving only the team and civilians standing.  

The entire team stared in shock and awe at the power and skill of the pair, even as they leaned on each other to remain standing.  Thor came over to the pair and he and Sif steadied them.  “Mother, are you alright?” he asked.  Loki would never be offended that Thor checked on their mother first.  He would have been insulted if he hadn’t.

She gave him a warm, if exhausted, smile.  “I’m alright, my son,” she reassured him as she and Loki both steadied from the massive spell.  They would crash hard when they were safely back at the tower, but would stay on their feet until then.  Thor was still reluctant to let Frigga go and kept an arm around her shoulders.  She smiled up at him and kissed his cheek.  “You boys are always so protective,” she told him and Loki both.  

The rest of the team gathered and Stark rushed over to Peter, Aunt May, and Pepper to check on them.  All of the civilians had made it through without a scratch.

Loki made his way over to Peter and Wanda as well.  His mother was safe, he had to check on his adopted little siblings.  Wanda was exhausted from the battle and channeling so much magic and Peter was supporting her for a minute while she recovered from channelling that much magic all at once.  For all their strength and skills, she and Peter were only fifteen.  It was so young, especially to the centuries old gods. 

“Loki, I’m sorry, I-” Peter started, heartbroken that he hadn’t been able to help. He couldn’t let his aunt find out his secret. She wouldn’t understand that he was Spiderman.  Loki knew how young his friend was.  While they were of an age if one considered life cycle equivalencies, Peter just didn’t have the world experience yet.  He didn’t understand yet that none of the team would hold his need to keep his secret identity secret against him. 

Loki gave him a warm, reassuring smile.  “Two, and only because there was a battle tonight,” he reassured his friend, using Peter’s silly number system to let the teen know that everything was ok.  He saw Peter’s usual lopsided grin and knew he’d succeeded.  “You kept Aunt May and Lady Potts away from the danger.  You kept them safe and did a warrior’s work tonight.  Everyone is alive and well, if tired,” Loki continued and Peter finally relaxed with Loki’s kind words.  Loki smiled warmly at Wanda, who was standing on her own again.  “And you did admirably tonight, little sister,” he told her warmly and, in a rare move for Loki, pulled her into his arms, pressing a brotherly kiss to her forehead.  She looked up at him surprised, shocked beyond words for a moment, but extremely pleased.

“Sister?” she asked so softly only Loki could hear her. He heard the hopeful note in her voice. As well as the surety that she had heard him wrong.  

“Sister of my soul, little witch,” he told her warmly and she hugged him tightly.  He could feel in her too-tight grip how desperately grateful she was to have a family again after all she’d lost.  Loki really was getting used to this whole hugging thing, strange though it was to him.  

“Oi! Loki!” Thor called. 

Loki looked over to see what the oaf wanted and saw Mjolnir flying toward his head.  It took every ounce of Loki’s self-control to fight his centuries of muscle memory and not duck out of the way of the hammer.  He reached a hand up to catch it and prayed whatever magic had made him worthy earlier held and he was still worthy.

Or else this was really going to hurt. 

His hand wrapped around the hammer and he braced himself to be thrown, already preparing to defend the little witch in his arms.  But the hammer stopped when he grabbed it and allowed itself to be held.

Loki was still worthy. 

The team stared in surprise.  They either hadn’t seen earlier, or hadn’t comprehended that Loki was worthy.  Wanda grinned up at him before she let him go so he could revel in his newfound worthiness.  “That’s not possible!” Stark whined.  Of course he, and all the others, had tried and failed to lift the hammer.  Most of the team was still too dumbfounded to say anything. 

“Congratulations, witch!” Peter told him, knowing how much it meant to Loki to finally be worthy.    Loki had confided his feelings of inferiority in compared to Thor to his young friend and Peter hadn’t forgotten and had completely understood. 

Loki smirked at him.  “And yet, I am holding the hammer.  Would you like to try?” he asked, offering the hilt to Stark, who grumbled and didn’t take it.  

There was a gentle hand on his arm and Loki turned his attention to it and saw his mother, her eyes filled with pride.  She hugged him tightly around the neck and Loki’s arm went around her automatically.  “I’m so proud of you, my son.  I always knew you were worthy.  It was just a matter of you learning it for yourself,” she told him warmly as she held him.

Frigga’s pride in him meant even more than the fact that Loki could wield the stupid hammer.

Chapter Text

Frigga remained on Midgard for a couple more days, seeing the sights with her sons and the strange collection of people who formed the team that had become their found family.  The entire team, including Peter, saw her off at the Bifrost circle next to the tower.  None of them were surprised at all that they all got hugs from the queen of Asgard.  She had adopted all of her sons’ friends, though Peter and Wanda most of all.  

She looked over both of them and smiled warmly before she gave them each another hug.  “My darlings, my sons should bring you to visit Asgard when you are on break from your schooling.  Loki said you get a long break during the summer?” she asked them both.

They both nodded. “Yes, Allmother,” Peter replied, polite as ever, which made Frigga smile.  She adored the polite teens.

“Are you sure you want us to come visit, ma’am?” Wanda asked, equally politely.  Even though Frigga had insisted she was just visiting as a mother and not a queen, the teens were treating her just as politely as they did any adult.  Granted, the rest of the team treated the queen with the respect she deserved too.

“Mother?  You know how the Allfather feels about Midgardians in his realm…” Loki reminded her tentatively.  He would love nothing more than to show his friends his home, but he didn’t want them smited by Odin either. And Odin really didn’t like mortals in his realm. 

“Mother…” Thor added, equally worried about the kids in Asgard and Odin killing them for being there.  Though Thor didn’t think he’d actually kill the kids, but he didn’t want to take the chance.  Or put up with Peter pouting and crying for weeks after he got kicked out of Asgard without getting to thoroughly enjoy it.  

Frigga gave her boys a warm reassuring smile, though Loki saw the mischief in her eyes.  He got at least some of his mischief from her and it was evident in times like these.  And Loki could see it in her eyes, but he was always a patient hunter, another thing he’d learned from Frigga, and knew to wait for her to tell them what she was up to.  “Don’t fret, darlings.  I will sort out the arrangements with your father.  If I wish for your friends to come visit us, then it will be so, as long as your blood siblings wish to visit, of course?” she asked the teens who lit up in excitement and nearly bounced for joy at the possibility of getting to visit Asgard.  Everyone knew how rare it was for mortals to get to see the golden realm and they wouldn’t pass up the opportunity.  Frigga smiled warmly at their excitement. “Then my sons and I will make the arrangements.  Study hard, both of you, and make sure my Loki is happy,” she told them.

Loki hugged his mother for far longer than any Midgardian man would be caught hugging his mother.  He didn’t care.  He buried his face in the crook of her neck as he’d done as a child. She smiled fondly at her son, who would forever be her baby boy, no matter that he was over a thousand years old.  She held him to her and stroked his hair.  

“I missed you so much, mother,” he told her, softly enough that only she could hear. He still wasn’t comfortable with the others knowing so much about his emotions. 

“And I have missed you.  I will see you again soon, my son,” Frigga reassured him as she held him tightly.  “And I will tell your father about your worthiness.  He will be proud of you,” she added.  

Loki scoffed. “The Allfather will never be proud of me,” he told her, his words filled with his ages old hurt.  Thor was always the favorite.  No matter what Loki did, or how hard he tried, Odin had never appreciated his younger son.  Despited that he had chosen to take Loki from Jotunheim, despite that he had adopted Loki and chosen him, he still couldn’t be bothered to love the child equally.  

He and Thor had cast such large shadows.  Loki only ever wanted a little light for himself. 

“He may not understand you as well as he does Thor,” Frigga admits.  “But never doubt that he loves you, though he does not always know how to show it,” 

Loki knew better than to argue with his mother.  So instead, he pressed a kiss to her cheek.  “I will miss you, mother,” he told her softly.

“And I will miss you, my son.  Never forget that I love you,”

“And I, you, mother,” he told her warmly.

He stepped back and let her enter the Bifrost circle with Sif.  She called to Heimdall and the Bifrost opened around the pair.  Loki didn’t stop staring at the spot where she had been until Peter came up beside him and took his arm.  “C’mon, witch, we need to go patrol. And get pastries from that new shop on 7^th!” Peter told him brightly.  Peter wouldn’t let his friend remain sad for long.

“Six,” Loki told him sadly, still staring at the spot where Frigga had been.  

Peter considered that for a moment and hugged Loki around the waist.  “You’ll see her again soon.  Summer break’s coming up really soon,” Peter reminded him brightly.  “Now c’mon!” he added and dragged Loki, grumbling and laughing in equal measure, out to go patrol.

*

<Mr. Loki, please come help! Boys bathroom 3^rd floor> Loki stared at the text message.  Peter should be heading to class.  Not texting him.  What trouble could he have gotten into at school of all places.  Loki reread the message.  ‘Mr. Loki’.  The arachnid only called him that when he needed a favor.  A big favor.

Loki sighed and stood from the couch.  He teleported directly to the requested bathroom, making a mental note to have the arachnid pick a better meeting place for future emergencies at school. 

“Mr. Loki! You came! You came!  Thank you so much!!” Peter exclaimed, hugging Loki and reminding the god of an excited puppy.

“Yes, spider-brat, I came,” Loki teased him warmly.  Peter knew that Loki used to call him ’Stark’s brat’ “Now, what is the emergency?” he asked, looking around the dingy bathroom with disdain.  He wanted to get out of here as quickly as possible.   

“I have a Spanish test in five minutes!” The teen wailed with tears in his eyes.  Loki rolled his eyes.  This was hardly an emergency.  

“If that’s all…” he said and prepared to teleport back out.  

“No! Please!  I failed my last test since I was out on patrol and couldn’t study! And now? Now Señorita Gomez said- she said only an act of God could make me pass now!!” he pleaded.  The teen had come straight to a god to get the help he needed.  Just as the teacher requested.  Even though that wasn’t what she meant. 

Mischievous twerp was learning more than anyone anticipated from Loki.

“…” Loki paused, considering the teen’s words.  He was proud of Peter for coming up with this solution.  He smirked his trademark mischievous smirk and his form shimmered until he looked identical to Peter.  “I’m on it,” he told his friend, who predictably hugged him.

“THANK YOU!” Peter exclaimed.  

“You will be studying the material properly this evening.  And you will never get into this situation again,” Loki told him firmly with a stern look that didn’t belong on Peter’s face.  Peter quickly nodded his agreement and promised up and down that he wouldn't let it happen again.  He would help, but Peter would do twice the studying to make up for it.  But Loki couldn’t let Peter’s future and ‘internship’ be in jeopardy. 

“Room 305, just down the hall,” he pointed in the right direction and vaulted up to the drop ceiling to hide in the ceiling tiles until after class. 

Loki huffed and rolled his eyes, looking put-upon until he donned Peter’s lopsided grin and bounded off to the requested class.  The rest of the students didn’t seem to notice that Loki wasn’t really Peter.  Except Wanda, who giggled and gave him a knowing smirk, but wouldn’t tattle.  Loki sat the exam and answered every single question correctly, including the bonus.  He nearly laughed at how easy the speaking portion was using Allspeak.

Hopefully the teacher didn’t know that shapeshifting was one of Loki’s powers.  

Regardless, she seemed impressed.

Loki’s hands were in his pockets and he whistled on his way back to the bathroom to change places with Peter again.

His good deed for the day was accomplished and it wasn’t even noon. 

Chapter Text

Loki returned to the bathroom to find Peter anxiously pacing while he waited for the god.  Loki chuckled at the sight and let his illusion fade so he was back to his normal form.  “You owe me a favor.  And you will be studying the material properly this evening and every evening until you know it properly,” he told Peter firmly.  He bailed Peter out to keep him from failing since if he failed, Aunt May wouldn’t let him keep working at his fake internship if he failed any of his classes.

Loki also had to admit that Peter had won him over with his interpretation of the teacher’s “only an act of god” can save you.  She hadn’t specified which god Peter was allowed to call upon.  He’d chosen to call upon Loki.  

“Thank you so much, Loki!” Peter exclaimed and hugged Loki around the neck.  “I swear, I’ll never let it happen again.  I swear, I swear,” he said in his loud puppy-like enthusiastic way.  

“You better not,” Loki told him firmly. “I will not cheat for you again,” he told the teen firmly. Loki had standards.  He only helped this time because Peter had goaded him with that ‘act of god’ line and he really didn’t want to lose Peter’s friendship if he lost the internship.  And he was really, really, going to make the teen earn the help he’d just gotten by making him study the material ten times as hard.  Or more.  The god would make sure that Peter didn’t think asking him to cheat would ever be the easy way out.

Poor Peter was in for a world of hurt and didn’t seem to realize it yet.

Loki was about to teleport home when Peter took his hand.  “Not yet, Loki!” he begged.  “Come to another class with me? Please???” he begged with a heartbreaking pout.

Loki rolled his eyes.  “Now why in the name of the Nine would I do that?” he asked.  He disliked this place and wanted to get out of this dingy high school. Especially the dingy bathroom of the school. 

“Because you get to show off?” Peter suggested.  Loki glared so Peter hurried on.  “We’re doing a section on mythology in my history class. The teacher said we can get extra credit for bringing in a myth to share with the class,” he explained a bit sheepishly.  He hadn’t been planning on asking, but if Loki was already here…

Loki gave Peter a considering look.  “You have gotten too good at using wording to your advantage,” he told his friend proudly.  “Very well, though this is two favors you owe me,” he warned.  Making deals with the Loki could be akin to making deals with the devil, though Peter didn’t think Loki would do anything to actually hurt him. 

“Fine, two favors,” Peter agreed.  He was too trusting of Loki, but Loki wouldn’t actually hurt him.  If he tried to do something out of line, Peter could always get Thor to intervene.  He doubted it would come to that.  Loki sighed and looked extremely put-upon, but let his casual clothes shimmer to his armor, including golden horned helmet.  If he was going to show off, he was going to do it properly.  “Thankyouthankyouthankyou!” Peter told him and led him from the bathroom to his next class.  

The crowd parted for Loki in armor. His very presence caused the students to get out of his way.  His armor made them scurry faster.  That he had summoned a replica of his staff to carry as he walked made them stay out of his way quietly.  His well-practiced murder strut had them all staring in awe at the god being led by Peter Parker of all people.  How did that nerd get so lucky as to be friends with such powerful people?

Peter led him into one of the classrooms.  “Ms. King, I’ve brought my extra credit project,” Peter announced while the rest of the students just stared.  And stared.  And stared.  Most of them had seen Loki on the camping trip, but that was casual Loki, friendly, patient, teaching. This Loki? This was combat Loki.  This was the god, the prince of Asgard.  This was the man worthy of their respect and a hint of fear.  He could smite them where they all sat and not bat an eyelash.  

He looked intimidating as hell in his full armor and battle regalia. 

Especially holding the staff when the battle of New York wasn’t that far behind them.  “E-extra credit?” the teacher stammered, while Loki watched on, his court mask in place and completely unreadable.  He had a feeling the young teacher was enamored with him and fought back a smirk. 

“You said if we brought a myth to share with the class that you’d give us extra credit,” Peter reminded her patiently.  “I brought a literal myth, Loki prince of Asgard, god of mischief, chaos, lies, and stories,” he told her brightly, looking so proud of himself.  “He agreed to come share a story from Asgard for us,” 

“V-very well then.  Excellent work, Peter,” the teacher stammered.  

Loki stood in front of the class and vanished his staff.  He was in his element with a captive attentive audience.  But what story to tell them?  Should he tell them of the creation of the world?  The battle of Jotunheim?  One of thousands of adventures he and Thor had growing up?The truth behind the battle of New York? 

Which story?

He decided on one of himself and Thor.  One that had made it into the myths, but was very true.  “This is a story of myself and Thor from many centuries ago,” he started the tale in front of the enraptured students and teacher.  “One morning, the entire palace woke to Thor roaring from his bedchamber.  He stormed all the way to the throne room to confront the Allfather in a rage.  Quite literally mind, as it rained in the palace as he walked as if a tiny stormcloud followed him, Mother was not pleased,” he added with a smirk. “We all arrived in the throne room to find out why he was in such a temper. His anger was understandable, of course, when he explained that his beloved hammer had gone missing.  No one had thought it possible, as only the worthy are capable of lifting Mjolnir.  However, someone had stolen the hammer from Thor’s bedside table in the dead of night, leaving only a ransom note in their wake,” 

“What did they ask for?” a small voice from the crowd asked when Loki paused.

“Who stole it?” someone else asked.  

Loki appreciated his audience goading him on. 

Loki chuckled.  “They asked for Freya’s hand in marriage.  Freya is the goddess of beauty and was always sought to be wed.  We also recognized the language in the note as belonging to the giants.  Thor stomped to Freya and demanded she give herself to the giants, that she marry their leader so he would get his hammer back,” he laughed again at the memory. “Needless to say that did not work, as she slapped him senseless.  He deserved it, the oaf.  So we had to come up with another way to get Mjolnir back, since we could not allow the giants to continue to have a weapon so powerful in their possession.  For whoever was worthy to lift the hammer would also have the power of Thor while they wielded it.  

We came up with a plan that we would disguise Thor as Freya and sneak into the giant’s territory to trick them into giving Mjolnir back during the wedding as they promised. I went along with him, disguised as his handmaid,” his form shimmered to Lady Loki to emphasize how he’d managed this and shifted back a moment later.  “We made it all the way to the giants without issue.  They were wary of Thor, of course, since he hadn’t bothered to allow me to use my magic to make him female and was in a flimsy disguise, but they bought my lies and the wedding began.  My idiot brother almost gave us away multiple times during the wedding feast, since the moron decided to eat the entire feast, which included and entire ox, seven salmon, and at least three trays of pastries.  He also drank three entire casks of wine,” he gestured to indicate how big a cask was and the kids looks impressed.  It was quite a lot of wine.  More than any woman, even an Asgardian one, would be able to drink on her own. 

“Again, we were saved by my silver tongue and lies.  Finally, the giants, being even more stupid than my idiot brother, performed part of the traditional wedding ceremony wherein Mjolnir, or a replica therin, is placed on the bride’s lap in a prayer to Thor for fertility. The moronic giants placed the actual Mjolnir in Thor’s lap.  At which time he ripped off his dress and proceeded to smite all of the giants and anything in his sight.  He swung the stupid hammer the entire way home, seemingly unconcerned that he had nearly killed me as well in his uncontrolled attack,” 

The entire room applauded his story, amused at the thought of Thor in a dress and surprised that the tale was real.  Loki told other stories from his childhood, most of them embarrassing stories about Thor.

He also very, very firmly shot down the possibility that he had ever had sex with a horse, much less had given birth to an eight legged horse.  Despite that Odin did, in fact, ride Sleipnir.

Frost actually formed around his feet, spreading out around him as the temperature dropped in the room, creeping up the walls in his anger at the question and the insinuation.  Peter jumped up from his seat, concerned.  “Mr. Loki?  Why don’t you tell them about the herd of bilgesnipe Mr. Thor led into the throne room?” he asked, trying to draw Loki’s attention away from his anger at the question to the possibility of making fun of Thor.  

Loki relaxed and gave Peter a nod of his head.  He’d never let Peter suffer and reigned in his temper if only for Peter’s sake. The ice vanished as he began the next story, enjoying telling of Thor embarrassing himself.  

And everyone gained a newly rekindled appreciation of Peter’s magical ability to control his blood brother’s temper.  

Chapter Text

Loki kept his word and kept Peter off of patrol for two days to force him to catch up on his school work. He was especially merciless on Peter when it came to reviewing the Spanish material he had shirked on.  

Surprisingly, no one in the tower felt sorry for the teen.

Loki was told he shouldn’t help Peter cheat anymore, but when they caught sight of Loki’s bootcamp studying punishment, they stopped scolding Loki.  Instead, they laughed at Peter’s misfortune.  

He would never, ever, get that far behind in his studies ever again.  He didn’t want to go through Loki’s bootcamp again.  It was torture on even his big brain.

Loki was an insanely hard taskmaster.

And Peter still owed him two favors.

Peter was doomed.

*

“Spider-child, you already owe me two favors, are you sure you wish to add a third?” Loki asked a sourly one morning.  Peter had come to the tower before school and insisted that Loki needed to come to school with him that day.  And had gone so far as to drag Loki from the tower in his pajamas, dragging Loki away from the breakfast table.  Luckily it wasn’t pancake morning or Peter would have gotten stabbed.  Loki had growled as his clothes shimmered to simple jeans and a t-shirt with his helmet on it and threatened to stab Peter for the indignance of being dragged from the tower in his pajamas.

Peter had dragged Loki all the way to the school with him, despite Loki’s growls of protest.  Damn kid was super strong.  And knew Loki wouldn’t hurt him, despite how many times he threatened to stab the teen.  “I’m repaying one of those favors today.  Trust me,” Peter told him with a grin. “I have a surprise for you at the school.  You’ll love it!” he promised.  

“A surprise… at the school… what could possibly be of interest at your Midgardian high school?” Loki asked dubiously as he walked with Peter to the school.  It was easier than being dragged like an uncooperative puppy held on a leash by a five year old.  

Wanda caught up with them and linked her arm with Loki’s free one.  His other wrist was still held firmly in Peter’s grip.  “You got him to agree to come, Pete?” she asked unnecessarily, really she was asking how Peter had managed to convince Loki to come.

Peter grinned his trademark lopsided grin.  “I dragged him out of the tower in his pajamas,” Peter replied with a smirk, making Loki growl.

“What is this about?” Loki demanded grumpily of his annoying younger siblings.  Why did he adopt such annoying twerps?

They both giggled in reply.  “You’ll find out when we get there.  You’ll love it, I promise!” Wanda told him while Peter nodded his agreement. 

Loki sighed, resigned to whatever the teens were up to.  They paused about a block away from the school.  “You need a piece of magic before we get there,” Peter told him.

Loki gave him a look.  “Are you quite sure this is not a third favor, spider-child?” he demanded grumpily.

Peter huffed.  “Yes, but you won’t get the full enjoyment if the teachers can prove who you are too quickly,” he explained overly patiently.  “They’ll ignore you if you look like a student.  Please?  I promise, it’ll be worth it!” he begged.  

Loki huffed and rolled his eyes, but his magic shimmered around him and he dragged before their eyes.  He was exactly what they’d imagined he’d looked like as a 16 year old.  His long raven hair remained, but he was a gangly teen, thinner and less muscled than his usual appearance.  He reached up and tied his hair up in what Peter had referred to as a ‘man-bun’, and looked over his clothes.  He sighed, as a shirt with his helmet on it was a touch too obvious.  The shirt changed to a black shirt with the Norse symbol for Mjolnir instead and black and white converse.  He had a black backpack over one shoulder.  “Better?” he asked, sounding put-upon.  

“Better, as long as the teachers don’t look too close,” Peter agreed.  He hoped the teachers wouldn’t ask about the new student for the day, though Loki had a silver tongue and could lie himself out of any situation.  Given proper motive.  

Peter just had to get Loki to the motive before the teachers noticed him.  

They made it the rest of the way to the school and Loki stopped dead in his tracks when they arrived at the front entrance to see the statues on either side of the entrance dressed in dresses with gaudy makeup.  The flag on the flagpole had also been replaced with a long string of underpants of all shapes and sizes.  All of the picnic tables in the outdoor lunch area had ended up on the roof somehow. 

Loki looked at Peter and Wanda expectantly for an explanation for this strange occurrence at the school. 

Peter grinned at Loki in reply.  “Welcome to Senior Prank day!” he told his friend excitedly.  At Loki’s raised eyebrow, he continued.  “The Seniors are the students who will be graduating at the end of the year, in a couple of weeks.  As a last hurrah, they take a day to perform pranks on the school.  It can’t be anything that is permanently damaging to the school or truly hurtful to anyone,” Peter added quickly, knowing he had to set boundaries on the mischief before Loki got carried away.  “But they spend the entire day performing pranks.  It’s mischief, chaos, and tons of fun!”

“And you invited me?” Loki asked, impressed that Peter would think to invite him to such fun.

“I’m sure they could use help from the master of mischief and chaos,” Peter said a little too enticingly. He’d brought Loki along, not just to observe, but to actively participate in the chaos.

Loki’s eyes lit up in absolute delight at all the possibilities.  An entire day where he could perform as much mischief and magic as he wanted?  And be praised by the students he was aiding in their attempts to perform pranks on the school?  

It was heaven to Loki.  

“This will be such fun~” 

Chapter Text

Loki looked like a kid in a candy store as the trio made their way inside.  “See the kids in the matching purple t-shirts with the year on them?” Peter asked as they walked up the steps to the main doors.  Loki inclined his head.  “Those are the seniors.  They’re all wearing those matching shirts today.  They’re the ones in charge of all the pranks.  Try not to be too hard on them, they’re just Midgardian kids and have nowhere near your skill in mischief and pranks.  Nor do they have magic to help,” Peter warned.  He didn’t want Loki discouraging their attempts at pranks or looking down on the kids for having fun.

Loki just grinned.  “Then I shall just have to help them,” he replied.  Peter and Wanda could both see the gears in his head working on ideas of what to do to the school and the teachers.  But Loki, as ever, was a patient hunter.  He would wait and see what the children had come up with on their own before adding his own touches and flair.  

And crazy amounts of drama and magic.

The second they walked through the doors, they say three pigs run down the hallway with numbers painted on their sides: 1, 2, 4.  

Loki chuckled.  “A traditional prank.  I assume it is the same on Midgard where there is no number three?” he asked his companions.  They both nodded and looked relieved that Loki had chosen to be amused rather than upset at the ‘traditional’ prank.  

“C’mon,” Peter told him as the principal walked by, followed by a full mariachi band, and looking annoyed.  Loki couldn’t help laughing at the harried look on the principal’s face.  “The seniors asked me for a favor if I actually got you here,” he explained and led Loki and Wanda through the halls.  

“A favor?” Loki asked, concerned.  It was one thing for Peter to owe him a favor.  He didn’t like the thought of Peter owing favors to others.  

“Don’t worry, it’s nothing harmful.  They know we’re friends and asked me to make sure you saw something they did if I managed to actually get you here.  They didn’t think I’d get you to show up,” he explained.  Loki nodded.  That was a reasonable request.  He was the god of mischief and chaos after all, of course the seniors would want to see him on their day of pranks.  He had a feeling he had a lot of new worshipers for the day. 

Loki always appreciated new worshipers.

Peter led the them to the library and opened the big double doors into the huge room of books.  Loki wondered what they were doing there, until he saw the statue.  He had no idea how the art students had managed, but greeting them in front of the circulation desk was a marble-looking life sized statue of Loki in full regalia, including the helmet, arms spread wide in the classic ‘your savior is here’ pose.  It wasn’t real marble of course, but plaster or some such material, decorated to look like marble. 

Peter whistled appreciatively.  “The art students went above and beyond with that creation,” he said.  There were students in the purple shirts approaching the statue, and a couple who were standing guard protectively over their creation. 

Loki approached the statue, curious to see what the purple-shirts were up to.  They were leaving offerings.  He couldn’t help the emotions that he had that they were actually leaving offerings at the feet of the statue to him.  There was a collection of offerings there already.  Most of the students weren’t rich, so the offerings were simple things, but Loki appreciated every single one of them.  There were brownies someone made, snack cakes from the store, different types of candy, an entire chocolate cake, and quite a lot of letters.  Loki reached for a brownie and growled softly when one of the purple-shirt guards tried to smack his hand away from the treat.

“Those are offerings, you can’t just take them!” the boy scolded.  Peter started to step forward to diffuse the situation.  It was something the kid had great skill in.

Loki stood to face the purple-shirt who had tried  letting a version of his horned helmet appear on his head.  It was the one that didn’t entirely cover his head.  It had been called the ‘murder tiara’ outside of Loki’s hearing.  It was still recognizable as his helmet.  

“I believe that is an offering to me,” Loki replied with a hint of humor in his voice at the kid’s completely shocked expression as he lifted the brownie to bite into it.  He purred in appreciation at the treat.  Before he could take another bite of the brownie, though, every student in a purple shirt within earshot dropped to one knee, bowing their heads in supplication.  Loki was shocked.  Somehow, even after the battle of New York, these Midgardians were bowing down to him.  They were kneeling before him.  Even after demanding that the people in Stuttgart kneel before him.  These children were doing so of their own volition.

“We hope our offerings please you on this, our day of pranks,” one of the seniors, who Peter recognized as a drama student, told Loki.  

“Oh yes, this will be such fun~” Loki said approvingly, but softly. Louder, he addressed the kneeling students, putting on the air the statue portrayed, the benevolent god.  “Rise, my supplicants,” he told them with a grandiose air to his tone. The students rose from their knees.  “Your offerings and statue are pleasing to me,” he told them graciously “And I have witnessed a sampling of your pranks,”

“Any assistance your godliness might be willing to lend to our poor attempts at pranks and mischief would be highly appreciated,” the drama student added.  Peter had a feeling she was part of Loki’s army with how over the top she was addressing him, but Loki seemed to be eating it up. 

He inclined his head regally.  “It would be my absolute honor to assist you in your day of mischief,” he told them with a Cheshire Cat grin.

The chaos began after that.

Some of the pranks were done by the students, some by Loki.  There were times it was difficult to tell who had done which.  Other times, it was all too easy.

The pigs and the mariachi band were the work of the students.  So was the cow on the third floor of the school.  Apparently cows will walk up stairs, but they won’t walk down them.  They also claimed credit for putting the principal’s car in the empty swimming pool, which impressed Loki as he couldn’t figure out how they’d gotten it there.  The choir kids barricading their corridor while singing “Do you Hear the People Sing?” was definitely all on them.  

The hallway that was filled with bubbles from floor to ceiling was definitely Loki, especially since the bubbles stayed in that hallway.  So was the hallway that forgot what gravity was.  So was the other swimming pool being filled with cherry cola.  The statues in the hallways being repositioned in lewd poses was also Loki’s doing.  As was the gym being turned into an exact replica of the training grounds of Asgard.  And the bilgesnipe in the soccer field.  He blamed Thor for the rain in the science labs.  Though he took credit for the snow and skating rink. 

For the hell of it, every student who entered the library that day ended up in Hogwarts robes of their House color (which Loki somehow got the spell to sort them correctly) and had their patronus floating around them.  

He wanted to turn all the teachers into animals, but Peter told him no.  Firmly.  And repeatedly.  And then threatened to call Thor.  So he had to give up on that idea.  

The slip n slide down the hall could’ve been either Loki or the seniors.  So could the auditorium being filled with cats of all things.  No one figured out who hid the watches all over the school. Or who set them to sound alarms every minute until the staff found them and turned them off.  

They had a feeling the ugly stupid goats on the football field were Loki’s doing, but no one could prove it.  They ranged from ugly and stupid, to really ugly and really stupid, to extremely ugly and extremely stupid. Everyone felt sorry for that poor goat.  On a completely unrelated note, the entire football team had mysteriously vanished.  Loki claimed no knowledge on that subject. 

In short, the school was complete and total chaos by the end of first period. 

Loki shadowed Peter all day to his classes. He had spelled his murder tiara to only be seen by the students and Loki spun a lie, in a very convincing accent, about being family visiting Peter from England and was shadowing him for the day to learn about American high-schools.  He had a very convincing permission note saying so.  He may have used magic to convince them, but he wasn’t owning up to it if he did. The seniors all bowed to him in the halls as he and Peter passed them.  Loki adored every moment of it.  

When Loki and Peter arrived at lunch, they saw a giant Christmas tree erected in the cafeteria, completely lit and decorated.  That wasn’t so strange on this day of chaos.  The strange part was the entire senior class standing around the tree in a circle, swaying as they sang the Who song from “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” 

Loki chuckled when he saw them.  “How do they all know this song?” he asked Peter quietly when he saw them.  

“It’s in a Christmas movie.  The holiday in the winter, near when your people celebrate Yule.  I’ll show it to you at Christmas,” Peter explained, and made the offer.  Loki could wait to understand entirely until then.  He didn’t always know what Midgardian things Loki already knew about and tended to over-explain himself, but Loki appreciated the effort his friend made. 

There was a whispered word from one of the seniors and all of them turned to the doorway where Loki was and dropped to their knees, then bowed down before him, bowing so low their foreheads practically touched the floor. The teachers all took too close of a look at Loki then, and he realized his disguise was over.  It wasn’t holding up anyway, not with all the magic he’d been using around the school. They had to have figured out that Loki was behind the chaos.  And they knew Loki and Peter were friends and what Loki was capable of.

At least Loki didn’t have to hide anymore.

With a shimmer of green magic a stage appeared under him, rising a couple feet as his form shimmered back to usual, though in his full regalia and proper helmet.  “Rise, my supplicants,” the seniors stood again when he bid them. “You have pleased me this day with your offerings of mischief and chaos.  Your god has accepted your offerings. I offer you my gratitude on this day for the experience and I hope that next year’s class will live up to the legacy you have left them,” he told them in his overly dramatic grandiose way.  He paused for a moment.  Peter caught his attention and held up his yearbook, the one Tony had bought him so his friends could sign it.  Loki inclined his head, thanking his friend for the wonderful idea.  “I would like to present you with a small token of my gratitude,” it was only fair for the fun they’d give him.  They day wasn’t over, of course, but this was the best opportunity to address them all at once.  A shimmer of magic went through the room and surrounded each Senior’s yearbook.  “A small gift, from me,” Loki told them.  He had used magic to change one of the blank pages to images from the day and had his signature in green magical ink in the center.

There were cheers and applause from the entire cafeteria.

One girl stood up on one of the tables.  “The Junior class accepts your challenge.  Expect bigger pranks from us next year!” she called in a stage voice.  There were more cheers from her words from every Junior in the cafeteria.  

Loki vanished in a shimmer of green magic and reappeared in the library to devour his offerings happily.  Peter was laughing when he found Loki there a few minutes later.  “Knew I’d find you up here,” he teased Loki warmly and sat next to him by the feet of the statue.  He accepted the brownie that Loki offered him. “That was a nice thing you did for the Seniors,” 

Loki inclined his head.  “It was kind of them to invite me to their prank day,” he replied. “It seemed appropriate to give them something in return.  Even though the trinket is small,” he sounded concerned.

Peter gave him his trademark lopsided grin.  “It was perfect.  It will mean a lot to them and they’ll keep those books and those memories forever” he reassured his friend.  Loki grinned and split the chocolate cake with Peter.

*

During the last class of the day an announcement came over the PA.  “If Mr. Loki Odinson would like to ever be invited to future school events, he will kindly return the school to the way he found it this morning.  If he would like to be invited to next year’s senior prank day, he will also return my car to its parking spot from its current location in the pool,” 

Loki huffed and rolled his eyes.  “Spoilsport,” he glared at the PA as if it were Jarvis and not the principal speaking through a microphone.  Peter would have to correct his misconception later.

“Loki~” Peter reminded him.  They didn’t want Loki banned from chaperoning future trips and Loki wanted to come back for next senior prank day.  He had to see if the Juniors lived up to their promise.  

He closed his eyes and gathered power to wash over the school and return it to rights.  The principal’s car returned to its spot glistening and clean.  In fact, the entire school was cleaner than it had ever been and all of the lockers were mysteriously repaired because one little arachnid had complained that his kept getting stuck.  Loki was making damn sure he wouldn’t be banished from future events. 

No one asked the football team why they were found on the football field during the last period of the day.  

It was better that way. 

Chapter Text

Peter came into the common room after school a few days after senior prank day and fwumped face first onto his couch with a groan, backpack still on his back.  It was the perfect image of a distressed teen.  

“What’s wrong, Arachnid?” Loki asked from where he’d been reading on his own couch, waiting for the teens to get home. Some days he went to the school to walk them home, but not every day.  

“Everything,” Peter grumbled in typical teen fashion. 

Wanda laughed as she set her bag down next to her usual spot.  “The school dance is in a couple weeks,” she told Loki. 

“That does not explain why the Arachnid is facedown on the couch, little sister,” Loki told her, sounding more amused than anything, especially when Wanda bounced over to hug him and kiss his cheek.  She’d gotten more openly affectionate with her adopted older brother and Loki relished the affection and contact.  

He was really looking forward to taking the teens to Asgard in a few weeks.  

“He was going to ask MJ to the dance, but he heard her talking at lunch about how the dance is just patriarchal nonsense and she’s boycotting it,” Wanda explained as she stepped back and looked up at Loki to explain while Peter made a noise that sounded like a dying whale.  “And Pete procrastinated, so most of the girls already have dates, so now he has no one to ask,” 

Loki nodded, pondered over that information.  He looked concerned.  “And you, witchling?  Has no one asked you to the ball?” this was the first he was hearing of it, so he assumed that Wanda hadn’t been asked to it.

She shook her head and tried to smile, tried to reassure him that she didn’t care.  He saw through the lie. Of course he saw through the lie.  “I’m probably not going to go,” she replied, trying to sound ok about it.  Loki’s heart bruised at the thought that she hadn’t been asked.  He heard through her lie.  She was sad she hadn’t been asked, as any fifteen year old girl would be.  Loki wished he could fix it, but this was one thing he couldn’t solve, even with all of his magic and power.

“Just because you do not have a date does not mean you cannot attend the ball,” Loki told her gently, trying to goad her into attending anyway.  He knew she’d have fun if she just went.  “I can go to the mall with you to find a gown,” he offered.  

Wanda gave him a tentative smile. “It’s really alright to go alone?” she asked nervously, but if anyone would know about propriety, it would be the literal prince.  

Loki gave her a warm smile.  “Of course it would. It would be a fun evening among your friends,” he told her.  She lit up in absolute delight and Loki chuckled. “Now scat and do your homework quickly so we can begin the hunt for a gown,” Wanda bounced up on her toes and kissed his cheek before she bounded off to do as she was told.  Loki chuckled after her, before he turned his attention to Peter, who was still on the couch making dying whale noises. “Arachnid?”

“I wanted to ask MJ to the dance!~” He whined, finally sitting up and looking at Loki.

Loki gave him a gentle look in reply.  “I know, but she does not wish to attend at all,” he reminded the teen.

“I can’t go to the dance alone!” Peter whined, nearly wailing in distress.  Loki knew Peter didn’t have many friends. And only had eyes for MJ.  

Loki shrugged. “Then don’t.  Wanda would go with you, even as friends.  Then you shall both not have to go alone,” he suggested reasonably.  It was a good solution.  Both teens would be able to attend the dance and neither would be truly alone.

And wouldn’t it be interesting if they became more than friends.

“I don’t have anything to wear,” Peter said softly. 

Loki rolled his eyes.  “Wanda and I are going out to look for a dress for her.  You can tag along and look for a suitable outfit as well,” 

“I… I don’t know how to dance,” Peter admitted.  Loki could hear how much he wanted to go and have fun though.  He wanted to be a proper teenager for once, to put aside being Spiderman for an evening so he could live his life.

Loki wanted to encourage that.

“Then I shall teach you, Arachnid.  All you ever had to do was ask,”

Chapter Text

After dinner and after the teens had finished their homework (Loki was very insistent on them not shirking on their schoolwork especially after the incident with Peter’s Spanish test) Loki did as he promised and took them out to get formalwear for the dance. It was easy to acquire a suit for Peter. They met with Tony’s favorite tailor at a little shop near the tower and acquired a perfectly tailored extremely high quality suit for Peter.  Peter tried to protest that it must be far too expensive, but neither Loki, Tony, nor the tailor would let him see what the suit cost.  Tony wasn’t even there.  He had just donated his credit card to this adventure.  They all just insisted that Tony’s protege needed to have at least one well-fitting suit, especially with all the events Tony hosted. 

So Peter submitted to getting measured for his suit with input from the peanut gallery of Wanda and Loki.  He was grudging about it and shy, thinking he was accepting a handout, no matter how many times Loki reassured him that the Avengers had plenty of engagements they went on where they needed formalwear.  

Loki and Wanda teased Peter good-naturedly through the fitting and sizing and he was soon laughing along with them, which didn’t help the measuring process go any faster, but it made Peter more comfortable with the situation.

Loki smirked when he caught a look of interest in Wanda’s eyes when she saw Peter in the final suit he would have for the dance.  It needed a bit of work to be perfectly sized, but all pinned into place, they got the effect.  

And Wanda’s interest was more than just friendly.

*

“We can drop you back off at the tower,” Wanda offered Peter as they were leaving the suit shop.  She didn’t think he’d be interested in helping her find a dress.  She knew that most males wouldn’t be.   She was surprised that Loki was putting up with the chore, but then Loki did turn female on occasion and loved fashion.

Peter shook his head with a grin.  “You helped me pick out a suit.  The least I can do is help you pick out a dress,” he replied brightly.  He wouldn’t abandon his friend on this adventure, especially on something that he knew wasn’t the easiest task. “That’s what friends are for,” he added with his usual lopsided grin.  Wanda grinned back and linked her arm with his as they walked to the next shop to begin the hunt for the illusive perfect dress for the dance. 

They searched for a long time, through multiple shops until they found the right dress.

The second Peter saw Wanda in the elegant floor length red gown, his jaw hit the floor. He gaped like a fish for a moment, unable to find anything to say. He did eventually come up with a couple non-sensical noises. 

Loki chuckled.  “Allow me to translate drooling teenage boy.  He says you look lovely,” Loki told Wanda, impressed himself with how lovely and grown-up she looked in the dress. Not that he was interested in any way, shape, or form, but he appreciated that the dress looked nice on her.  And was absolutely perfect for the dance.  “And I agree, witchling.  That dress looks wonderful on you,”

Peter made an incoherent noise of agreement. 

Wanda giggled and there was color in her cheeks from all the praise on her appearance.  “Thank you both,” she told them brightly and ducked back into the fitting room to change back into her real clothes, her dress chosen. 

*

“Loki! What do I do?!?!?” Peter demanded, fwumped on Loki’s bed the next evening.  The pair were talking in Loki’s room where they’d have privacy.  Loki allowed so very few people into his room, into his sanctuary that Peter knew it was a privilege to be allowed there. 

“About what, Arachnid?”

“About Wanda!” he wailed as if that were obvious. 

Loki laughed.  “What about Wanda?” he asked, though he had an idea.  He had a very good idea, in fact.  He had been waiting for this conversation.  

“I’m an idiot,” Peter grumbled and flopped over on his other side.  

“You are a fifteen year old boy.  Of course you are,” Loki said dryly and laughed when Peter smacked him with one of Loki’s own pillows.  “What particular idiotic thing did you do this time?” Loki asked, which just got him smacked again.  

“I didn’t ask Wanda to the dance.  And if I ask her now, she’s just going to think that I’m only asking her because MJ would say no,” Peter said in a whine. He didn’t know how to fix this problem and realized he was an idiot for not even considering to ask one of his best friends, or thinking she could be more.  “I could ask her to come as friends.  But I don’t want it to be just friends!  Why am I so stupid not to realize that I had feelings for her before now?!?!?” Peter whined.  His voice got higher pitched when he was distressed and if it weren’t so amusing, Loki would be annoyed.  “She’s perfect for me and I’m a moron for not realizing it sooner!  I don’t have to hide who I am around her. I can be myself.  She’s been on patrol with me, she knows I’m Spiderman.  She knows my internship is fake.  She’s intelligent, and pretty, and the sweetest girl ever!” he groaned and made a sound like a dying whale in distress when his words ran out. 

“And she is interested in you as well, arachnid,” Loki told him when he could speak without laughing at his friend. 

Peter bolted up into a sitting position.  “Really?!?!” he asked, looking and sounding like an overexcited puppy.  As per usual. 

“Yes, arachnid.  I saw the glint in her eyes when you tried on that suit.  She was definitely interested.  I know she values you as her best friend and as one of the few people who are not afraid of her powers.  Even if her control slips,” Loki told him.  Peter knew all about Wanda’s powers and had seen her during a particularly bad meltdown of PTSD induced terrors.  He had seen her powers completely out of control.  And confronted her with his lopsided grin and lack of fear. Between Peter and Loki, they had gotten her calm and gotten her powers back under control.  And the entire time, Peter had never been afraid that she would hurt him, not even accidentally. 

That meant the world to the little witch.

Peter fwumped back on the bed, clutching one of Loki’s pillows to his chest.  “That doesn’t change that I’m a moron who didn’t ask her,” he said, sounding devastated. “Seven,” he told Loki, looking at his friend with desperation in his eyes.

Loki chuckled. “No need for such theatrics, little arachnid.  Here is what you do…”

Chapter Text

“You have never been to a ball?” Loki asked Peter incredulously after classes one day.

Peter huffed and looked uncomfortable.  “No, I never went to a school dance.  This is the first one in high school and before that, I had a girl’s body and…” he’d been too uncomfortable in his skin to go to something like a dance. Not when the students all bullied him, especially not for being trans.  

So this was Peter’s first school dance. 

Wanda’s too.  She’d been a hydra experiment during the years when she would’ve possibly attended a school dance.  Or school.  It was an adjustment to the poor teen just to be in school with normal humans.  And she was doing so admirably at it.  She’d made friends and was keeping up with the classwork.  

Loki inclined his head.  “Wanda asked me to teach her how to dance.  She is so very excited for the ball,” he told Peter with a smirk. Peter blushed.

Peter had followed Loki’s advice and Wanda had agreed to go to the dance with him.  It hadn’t taken much convincing and she’d been excited to go with someone.  She’d even been convinced that Peter was interested in asking her for her and not as a second choice.  Peter was beyond grateful for Loki spoon feeding him what he needed to say.  Loki’s silver tongue was extremely useful when it was being used to help people.  

There were people in the world who still didn’t like or trust Loki, who didn’t understand his chaotic nature, or pranks and mischief.  But there were those, like Peter and Wanda, who knew how to work with Loki’s nature, who praised him for his skills and abilities.  He enjoyed being a part of their everyday lives. They grounded him in reality and he didn’t have to focus on being a prince, a war criminal, the master magician.  

He could just be… himself.

And that was something he cherished beyond anything else.  

“Wait?!? Wanda asked you to teach her to dance??? I don’t know how to dance! I don’t think any teenager knows how to dance!” he complained, loudly.

Loki chuckled.  “Well, you shall have to learn before we go to Asgard.  There are balls nearly every evening and there will be one in your honor when you arrive,” Loki informed Peter, who turned deathly white at the news.

“That sounds way more complicated than a school dance, which I already don’t know how to dance at!” Peter whined.

Loki smirked.  “Then I shall just have to teach you,” he replied and Peter knew that he’d fallen right into Loki’s trap in his web of words.  He’d now have to learn court dances.  

Fuck.

“Fine, but this is one of the favors I owe you,” Peter replied, but gave Loki his lopsided grin. He wasn’t upset with the god, not at all.  Sometimes it was fun just to banter with him.  

“You will be a natural, Arachnid.  You have the athleticism, not as a tank like my idiot brother,” Peter had taught Loki about MMOs and the pair had hacked Jarvis one night to play WoW, Fortnight, FFXIV, and any other online game they were interested in on the giant screens in the server room. 

Tony had been livid since Jarvis was distracted watching the games to actually help him fly around the city.

Loki and Peter had sworn to never do it again while Tony increased the security on Jarvis.  

They had both lied through their teeth and had hacked Jarvis again the very next week.  Jarvis was no match for Loki’s intelligence, especially when paired with Peter’s intelligence too.  It took them half the time to hack in the second time.

“But your skills are in speed and…” Loki paused looking for a word. “Gymnastic ability for lack of a better explanation.  That will make you a graceful dancer.  Come, let’s get started,” he said with a smirk and led the teen down to the training room he and Wanda had been using for dance lessons. It was also the one they usually used for magic lessons.  Stark had basically given up the room to Loki to do with as he pleased, since it was Loki’s teaching that was helping Wanda learn to use and control her powers. 

“First, we will start with the waltz, not a complicated dance, really,” Loki started, stepped out onto the middle of the training room.  He waved to a stereo in the corner  “The lady takes her place slightly to the left of the leading gentleman.  Six basic steps, that is all.  However, it is said that the true test of a perfect waltz is for it to be so swift, so delicate, and so smooth, that a candle-flame will not be extinguished in the hand of the lead dancer. That is the skill I expect that you will be able to achieve.  Now, the steps go like this…”

Peter looked wary as he watched Loki’s smooth performance, but he stood next to the god and copied the moves.  They went through them a couple more times.  “How am I supposed to learn how to lead without a partner?” Peter whined.  

Loki smirked and turned to take the position of the lady.  “I will be your partner,” he said.  Peter wasn’t getting out of this that easily. 

Peter looked up at him. “But you’re a foot taller than me!” he whined as if this were an unreasonable expectation. 

Loki huffed and rolled his eyes. “Very well,” he replied. His form shimmered until he was a teenage Lady Loki, roughly Peter’s height.  “Better?” she asked. 

Peter resigned himself and the real work began. Loki was insistent that Peter wouldn’t be embarrassed at the balls on Asgard and was just using the Midgardian dance as an excuse to make sure Peter knew the court dances.  

So they practiced every day until the Midgardian dance.  Loki expected perfection and was pleased with Peter’s progress.  Finally, the afternoon before the dance, something came to Peter.  “You said there’s a ball on Asgard?”

Lady Loki inclined her head.  Peter was still more comfortable dancing with a female, though Loki had promised that on Asgard there was no shame with two males dancing together. Even two brothers.  He and Thor showed off all the time.  “Will I have to pack my suit?” Peter asked too innocently.  He knew.  He knew the answer.  He just didn’t want to hear the answer.

Loki giggled.  “Of course not.  I have already had court clothes made for you.  I sent your measurements and Wanda’s to Mother so she could have appropriate clothes made for you and the witchling,” she explained as if that were obvious. Loki and Frigga would of course be good hosts to their guests and make sure they were attired appropriately.  They were also giving the teens rooms in the family wing for their visit, which was unusual, but the Midgardians were guests of the royal family and it was better that they be close.

The words Peter used would have had Steve going “Language!” after the very first one.

Loki just laughed and laughed at Peter’s misfortune.

Chapter Text

The night of the dance finally arrived.  Somehow Loki had convinced the school board yet again that he was a suitable chaperone for the school event.  No one knew how he’d done it and yet, no one was surprised, or upset by it either.  The foolish mortals thought that would make it the safest school dance in living history.

Foolish mortals.

Though Loki intended to not cause mischief at the dance, he wanted the night to go well for his adopted siblings. So if anyone threatened their happiness, they would feel his wrath.  It was also taking all of Loki’s self control to not crash their entire evening.  He really wanted to watch their entire date, but knew that would be inappropriate. He had known that long before Stark’s ranting lecture about how he had to let the kids have their evening without interference. 

Loki ignored him after about thirty seconds into the rant.  

When that didn’t work to stop the rant, he started vanishing objects in the room, which Stark didn’t notice.  Then he started floating objects in the room. Which Stark didn’t noticed.  Then Loki started making clones of himself around the room.  It took twenty clones before Stark noticed and decided to yell about that instead of ruining Peter’s evening.

As if Loki would ruin Peter’s date.  He’d been coaching him on the date and made sure the young man knew how to dance, how to act, what to do.  Peter was as prepared for this date as he could be and he was so excited.

*

That evening, Peter came to the tower, driven by Happy in a limo.  Wanda was waiting nervously in the common room with Loki and the team.  She looked absolutely gorgeous in the dress she’d chosen for the evening and Loki and Clint had done her hair and makeup.  Loki was fantastic with hair, especially with the application of magic to hold the style and Clint was brilliant with makeup.  Surprisingly, his experience in the circus helped him perfect the art of applying even normal makeup.  

The team was all equally torn of adoring how wonderful Wanda looked, and hated that the teen looked so grown up.  She was the darling of the tower and while they loved that she was building a life for herself, they were still a bit sad that she was growing up so quickly.

Peter came upstairs and looked surprisingly grownup in his suit.  Everyone was used to seeing him in either his spider-man suit, or in jeans and t-shirts, or hand-me-down shirts from his Uncle Ben.  They’d never seen him in something that was so well fitting, much less a real suit.  

He had brought a corsage for Wanda and placed it on her wrist. It matched his boutonniere perfectly.  As Loki had known it would. The team made the pair pose for pictures.  They got a couple nice ones before both teens stuck their tongues out and started making silly faces, laughing at the antics of their adopted family.

The picture of them sticking their tongues out, both of them looking adorable and like they were having so much fun was the one Loki had framed and placed on Wanda’s bedside table.  She would love the present when she came home to find it.

Loki went to the dance hall while Happy drove the teens to the Italian restaurant they had reservations at. Happy was staying nearby, just in case anyone decided to cause trouble for the Scarlet Witch and Stark’s intern. Luckily no one had put together that Loki’s friend Peter was also his patrol partner Spiderman.  No one had put together that Stark’s intern was best friends with Loki and Wanda.  Or that Loki went on patrol with Spiderman and the Scarlet Witch. 

People were dumb sometimes

Loki wished he could go to dinner with the teens, to make sure they were having fun.  They’d kill him if they caught him at it, so he just had to make sure not to get caught.  He sent an illusion to check in on them and saw them eating dinner, laughing and chatting in the restaurant.  

*

They eventually made it to the dance and Loki watched from the sidelines as they spent the entire evening together.   Neither of them knew how to dance like the other kids, but they were having a blast trying.   

Loki would also never admit to helping spike the punch.  

In fact, he would insist vehemently that he had nothing to do with it.  It was bound to happen with or without his help. And he insisted quite loudly that it wasn’t him.  It wasn’t his style. It was his style to turn the jerk who was going to bother Peter, and torment him about really being a girl, into a goat.  Peter raised an eyebrow at him when he saw the goat and Loki shrugged.  No one else attempted to bother Peter and Wanda.

Loki found himself amused with whatever the electric slide was and how everyone seemed to know the dance.  Or the silly dances from the video games they were all obsessed with. 

Loki also flicked his wrist toward the DJ, who looked incredibly confused when his equipment began playing an elegant waltz toward the end of the night.  He didn’t have a waltz on his music.  He hadn’t even heard this waltz.  The teens all looked confused, except for Peter and Wanda.  Peter turned to Wanda and offered her an elegant court bow, with his lopsided grin.  She offered him a curtsy and a grin of her own as she placed her hand in his and he led her out to the middle of the dance floor.  They took their positions and began the steps they had both been practicing so hard.  

They were fantastic.  

Beyond fantastic.  They had the grace of any in the court of Asgard and practically floated across the dance floor.  The rest of the students stared in awe at the sight of Wanda in her flowing dress, their graceful steps, their confidence and skill. 

Loki couldn’t be more proud.  

Slowly, other students began to join them, the few who knew how to waltz through whatever reasons, or just wanted to try, or sway with their partners.

Wanda and Peter were both lit up in delight at the joy they were having dancing together.  And Loki could practically watch the spark between them turning into more.

*

After the dance, Happy drove Peter and Wanda back to the tower and Peter walked Wanda all the way to her bedroom door.  They paused there, shy and awkward as any young couple at the end of the their first date.  Peter gathered his courage and leaned in, tentatively for a goodnight kiss.  

“May I?” he asked softly before their lips touched, remembering his manners and polite as ever.

In answer, Wanda leaned in the rest of the way to kiss him.

The kiss was quick and chaste, over in a moment, and yet, both teens were completely lit up in delight, pleased with the beginning of this stage of their relationship, at their friendship becoming more. 

Under normal circumstances, it would have been disgusting for Loki’s brother and sister to be dating or kissing, but Loki always did have a strange family, and his found family was no different.

And it was absolutely perfect for its strangeness.

Chapter Text

“How was the dance?” Loki asked with a too innocent smirk over his cup of tea the next morning when Peter came for patrol. It was pancake morning in the tower, so Loki was in an extra good mood.  Like, not even on the evil scale he was having such a good morning.  Loki adored pancakes as practically his favorite Midgardian food (though anything Aunt May made him was pretty high up there, home-cooked meals from a mom-figure ranked extremely high for Loki, though he would never admit it).  

Peter mock-groaned. “The entire tower knows, don’t they?” he whined as he took the seat next to Loki for breakfast.  Peter was always invited to eat whatever he wanted in the tower.  Stark kept it stocked with all the boy’s favorites.  And anytime the team was eating, Peter was always invited to join.  The team knew Aunt May didn’t have a lot of money and helped however they could, including making sure the boy was fed.  So Peter got a stack of pancakes to eat.

Loki’s smirk grew.  “Know what, Arachnid?” he asked pleasantly.

Peter rolled his eyes.  “That I kissed Wanda last night,” he replied, huffing in annoyance at his friend.  

“Why would we know any such thing?” Loki asked pleasantly and too innocently. “Though I am glad for you,” he said.

“Thanks-” whatever else Peter was going to say was lost when Loki flicked his wrist and the security footage of Peter kissing Wanda appeared on every Jarvis screen in the vicinity.  “LOKI!” Peter protested loudly, turning all sorts of shades of red while Loki roared in laughter at the look on his face as the clip played over and over on repeat. “Turn it off! Turn it off!!” Peter wailed.  Stark started to protest since Peter was so upset.  Peter wasn’t really upset, of course.  It was a joke from Loki and he knew it, a harmless bit of mischief, even though the others might think it mean.  It wasn’t.  It was weirdly Loki saying he approved of the relationship. “Before Wanda sees! I don’t want her embarrassed!!” Peter could take the embarrassment and teasing, Loki meant it in good fun, but Peter didn’t want Wanda embarrassed. 

Loki’s laughter and the clip vanished when he felt Wanda approaching. He could feel Wanda anywhere in the tower (or out though he didn’t go advertising it to Wanda) by her magic, especially since he’d been teaching her magic. 

Peter sighed in relief.  He really didn’t want Wanda embarrassed. He smiled brightly when he saw her enter the room.  She grinned as well.  The two lovebirds were vomit-inducingly adorable.  Wanda bounced over and kissed Peter’s cheek, making Peter turn a million shades of red and the table couldn’t help smirking or flat-out laughing.  They were adorable and so happy and no one wanted to do anything to ruin their day. 

*

“And you have your phone?” Aunt May asked at dinner the night before the trip to Asgard.  

“Yes, Aunt May,” Peter replied with a groan, trying not to roll his eyes.  “And Mr. Stark worked with Loki to fix it up so it will work on Asgard,” he continued.  The two of them working together on a project had terrified the entire tower.  No one believed that Tony would survive the experience.  They had only managed because Peter was involved.  So they had mixed science and magic together to make a line of cell phones that would work across the realms.  

“And your girlfriend is coming?” May asked, starting to sound disapproving at that.  She was a mother figure so of course she’d be concerned. 

“Yes,” Loki replied warmly. “Wanda is my student and my mother adores her,” he added, which relaxed May, remembering that there was plenty of adult supervision.  Plus Peter wouldn’t dare misbehave in front of the queen of Asgard.  Peter wouldn’t dare misbehave, Aunt May had raised him to be a gentleman. He would be fine on Asgard.  Plus, Loki would be looking after him and Wanda.  Thor would too, as would Mama Frigga.  Peter would be fine.

That didn’t make it easier for Aunt May to let Peter leave the realm. 

“They will be perfectly safe on Asgard,” Loki promised with his silver tongue.  “They are both under my protection and will be staying in the palace with my family,” he reminded Aunt May.  Again. She was understandably worried.  He was also partially lying, but Aunt May didn’t need to know that.  Things… happened… on Asgard.  It wasn’t always anyone’s fault when monsters decided to attack.  They just did.  And Loki wasn’t stupid enough to think that Peter and Wanda wouldn’t insist on fighting any threats with their friends, despite that they weren’t Asgardian.  They would fight even though it wasn’t their home to defend. 

And Loki loved them both for it, though he would do his best to protect them. 

They would do the same for him. 

“We’re leaving at dawn, Aunt May, so I’m spending the night in the tower.  I don’t need to pack anything except my phone.  Our clothes won’t fit in, so Loki and the Allmother are providing clothes for us,” Peter reminded his aunt.  He and Loki were heading back to the tower after dinner. 

“There’s nothing you need to bring?” Aunt May asked in disbelief.  

Loki shook his head.  “We are quite used to visitors from foreign realms.  It would be horribly impolite for the royal family not to see to the needs of our personal guests,” he placated her with his silver tongue.  “However, it is considered polite for guests to bring a host gift.  I helped Peter pick one out for Mother and it is already packed to bring with us,” 

Aunt May was appeased by that and the meal continued in peace with no more grilling on May’s part.  Peter was safe in Loki’s care (who would have ever thought that would be a valid sentiment??) and Loki had prepared everything. 

They said their goodbyes after dinner and Peter hugged his aunt tightly.  “I’ll call you tomorrow,” he promised.  “We’ll be fine, Aunt May,” he promised.  

She kissed his forehead. “It’s my job to worry about you,” she replied.  He gave her his trademark lopsided grin.  She turned to Loki and gave him a stern look.  “Take care of him,” she demanded.

Loki offered her an elegant bow.  “You have my word,” he replied warmly before he wrapped an arm around Peter’s shoulders and the pair vanished in a shimmer of green magic. 

*

The next morning, Loki, Thor, Peter, and Wanda gathered in the Bifrost circle outside of the tower.  Peter and Wanda were practically bouncing in excitement to go to Asgard.  No one blamed them.  Everyone wanted to see the famed golden realm.  They’d all gotten Thor drunk enough times to talk about his home.  

He and Loki were excited as well to visit their home. It had been awhile since they’d visited.  

The teens said their goodbyes to the team and rushed into the Bifrost circle with Thor and Loki.  Loki’s arm went around Peter’s shoulders, while Thor did the same to Wanda, tucking her close against his side.  “Traveling by Bifrost is an experience, especially the first time,” he warned her warmly.  Thor seemed to be everyone’s big brother.  

Loki was the only one who minded. 

After one last wave to the others, Thor raised Mjolnir and looked to the sky.  “Heimdall, bring us home!” he called.  

Peter’s grip tightened around Loki’s waist as the rainbow lights surrounded them. “Don’t fret, arachnid.  I will not allow you to come to harm,” Loki told him warmly as he braced himself for travel by Bifrost.  

Peter grinned up at Loki.  “I know, witch,” he replied warmly and Loki laughed as the familiar sensation of being dragged into the sky surrounded them.  Wanda was clutching onto Thor in nerves as well as they flew upward to home.

It was only a minute before they were stepping into the Bifrost chamber on Asgard, appearing before Heimdall.  Loki let go of Peter as they stepped forward.  Thor had let go of Wanda as well and she took Peter’s hand, both of them looking around in awe.  “Welcome home, your highnesses,” Heimdall greeted the princes, then turned to the teens with a warm smile.  “Welcome to Asgard,” he bid them warmly.  The two polite teens thanked him, still awestruck.  

Their mouths fell open when a blonde shape they later identified as a young blonde woman threw herself into Loki’s arms.  “Loki! You’re home!” she said excitedly as she did.  Loki laughed as he swung her around in a circle, making her giggle in delight.  

“I am, my darling,” he told her brightly, his face so full of joy.  Loki kissed her, then set her on her feet next to him, his arm around her shoulders. The teens could then get a good look at the young woman with long blonde hair, beautiful blue eyes with a spark of mischief, and wearing a blue Asgardian style gown. They couldn’t help staring, wondering who this woman was and why Loki was so… happy.  “My apologies, I am being terribly rude.  Allow me to introduce Sigyn, daughter of Freya, my fiancee,”

“FIANCEE???!?!?!?!?” demanded Peter and Wanda in equal shock.

Chapter Text

The teens stared in shock.  Their mouths hung open and they were actually silent for once.  It was a miracle for Peter.  That boy never shut up most of the time.  He was a never-ending loop of commentary and pop culture references.

Until now.  

Loki chuckled and kissed Sigyn’s temple while the teens were distracted with their gawking.  Loki kissing this young woman didn’t help the gawking.  It just made it a billion times worse.  “We did not miss your graduation, did we, darling?” Loki asked her, true concern in his tone.

She shook her head and stood up on her toes to steal a kiss.  “No, Lokes.  Graduation is in a couple days.  You’re right on time,” she told him warmly.  

He smiled so brightly as he leaned down to kiss her properly. “Good.  I would have hated to miss something so important to you,”

“G-graduation?” Peter asked, finally finding something to say.  Asking about this mysterious graduation was a safe line of questioning until he could grill Loki in private about his secret fiancee. 

Loki turned to address him, keeping his arm around his lady, both of her arms were around him.  “Sig attends Asgard’s Academy of Magic,” Loki explained to the teens.  “It is known across the nine realms and only accepts the best and brightest magicians,” he added proudly.  They could see the look of love in his eyes toward the woman he held in his arms.  It was a strange look for the god, but one they all approved seeing. 

“And you’re all coming to my graduation while you’re here,” Sig told them brightly. They all knew that she really wanted Loki there, but Loki’s guests would be welcome as well. “There’s also a tour of the academy set up for your guests, Lokes.” Wanda lit up at that, interested to see the realms-famed magic academy.  

Hell, Peter wanted to see Asgard’s Hogwarts, which is what he decided the magic academy was.  He was bound and determined to spend the entire trip there comparing the Academy to Hogwarts and trying to find any similarity to tell his friends on Earth about.  He’d brought about ten arc-reactor battery chargers for his phone just so he could take pictures of everything in Asgard. 

“You have been busy, my darling,” Loki replied approvingly.  

“Your mother and I wanted to make sure your guests have a good visit,” Sig replied warmly. 

“We should get going,” Thor reminded them all.  He went over to Loki and Sig and pressed a brotherly kiss to Sig’s hair.  “It’s good to see you again, Lady Sigyn,” he told her warmly. 

Sig kissed his cheek. “And you, oaf,” she teased him warmly.  Peter and Wanda could both see why she and Loki got along so well. 

The group made their way out of the Bifrost chamber.  Loki couldn’t help chuckling at the look of awe on the teen’s faces as they stared over the rainbow bridge to Asgard proper.  Peter finally pulled himself together enough to pull out his phone to take a picture of the beautiful sight of the city and the palace, or the gorgeous rainbow bridge.  He knew in all of his years, with every word he had, he would never find the right ones to describe the absolute beauty of the land of the gods.

And he was beyond grateful that Loki thought enough of him to bring him here. 

Peter wrapped his arms tightly around Loki’s waist.  “It’s beautiful!~” he told his friend, for once, not able to come up with better words.  Loki chuckled, but appreciated the sentiment and was glad his friend appreciated his home.

“Welcome to Asgard, my brother,” Loki replied warmly, his arm around Peter’s shoulders as they looked out over the city.  Loki couldn’t remember the last time he had stood here looking at his home.  They were usually so busy rushing back from the Bifrost that they didn’t take time to admire the beauty of home.

No one ever did when they were going home.

Even the gods.

Especially the gods. 

Sig laughed, interrupting the moment when it had gone on too long.  “You have changed, Lokes, to let someone besides me hug you like that,” she teased and bounced up to kiss Loki’s cheek. 

Peter laughed. He had a feeling he was going to like Sig from what he’d seen of her so far. Though Peter liked everyone, so that wasn’t saying much. 

Loki glared at Peter.  “If you so much as think about adopting Sig’s nickname for me, I will yeet you off of the tallest building in New York.  Without your suit,” it was an empty threat. Loki wouldn’t actually throw Peter off of a building. 

“You used yeet properly! I’m so proud of you, witch!” Peter replied, teasing Loki mercilessly.  

“You insolent annoying spider-brat,” Loki snarled at him.  Peter just laughed at Loki’s snarls.  He knew the god wouldn’t hurt him. Loki grabbed him in a headlock and rubbed his knuckles roughly in the boy’s hair while Peter laughed and protested.

“Ah, brotherly squabbles,” Thor reminisced fondly as he watched the pair.  Which led to Peter and Loki teaming up on Thor.  

Sig whistled sharply.  “Come along boys, the Allfather is waiting to meet your guests and they need to be properly attired,” she reminded them. Thor and Loki hung their heads, apparently used to, and whipped by, reprimands from Sigyn.  

The teens looked on in awe and Peter snapped a picture of the two gods being cowed by the tiny proper Asgardian lady. 

Sigyn had to be formidable indeed to get that reaction from two of the strongest men the teens knew.  From literal gods.  The teens had a newfound respect for Sigyn in that moment and swore to themselves to never, ever, cross her.  

Not if she could get that reaction from Thor and Loki with one single whistle.

What would happen if something truly got her temper riled?

No one ever, ever, wanted to find out.

Chapter Text

The group took one of the skyboats to the palace since neither of the teens knew how to ride a horse.  Loki promised they’d learn if they visited Asgard again.  For this adventure, they could deal with the skyboats, even if they were bulkier than horses.  As well as more conspicuous, especially with the princes driving.  

Peter took pictures the entire flight from the Bifrost chamber to the palace.  They were both amazed at flying across the Bifrost, at all of the beauty of the golden city. They made it to the palace and disembarked.  Thor left the skyboat to one of the servants to handle while their group headed into the palace.  The teens had to rush to keep up with the Asgardians.  

“Loki, slow down!” Wanda whined as she had to jog every couple of steps to keep up with Loki’s long strides.  

“Yeah, Loki, what’s the rush?” Peter asked.  He’d been trying to get pictures of everything, but Loki was moving too quickly to let him.  He tried anyway, but knew the pictures weren’t going to come out well.  He’d delete all the bad ones later when he had time.  

“We need to get you and Lady Wanda properly attired before your meeting with the Allfather and we do not have an abundance of time,” Loki explained.  He’d gotten formal again by being home.  At least by being in the palace.  He was perfectly casual around Sig.  

“Lady Wanda?” Peter questioned.  Loki hadn’t been that formal in ages.  Of course he would poke and prod at things.  That’s what he did, especially when it came to Loki.  He had to understand why his friend was being weird.

“Have you forgotten that I am a prince, spider-child?” Loki asked sourly. That wasn’t a helpful answer and Peter looked to Thor for a better one.  Thor could usually be convinced to translate Loki’s odd behavior when Loki was being unreasonable. At least he was only down to ‘spider-child’ and hadn’t degraded to ‘spider-brat’ yet.  It was easy to tell when Loki was annoyed, even without Peter’s number system.  His nicknames for people changed based on his emotions. 

“It’s stressful for Loki to be home, especially when he has to go before Father,” Thor explained as they continued walking.  “He and Father have never seen eye-to-eye and Father knows that it is because of Loki that there are Midgardians in Asgard.  Of course, he approved your visit and no harm will come to you while you are here, but your appearance before Father must still go well for you to be invited back to Asgard,” Thor explained.

“Oh, Loki’s nervous it won’t go well,” Wanda replied.  That made plenty of sense.  

“Don’t worry, Loki.  You explained what we had to do thousands of times before we came here,” Peter reassured him with his usual lopsided grin.  

Loki sighed. They didn’t understand how important this was.  If Odin didn’t like them, he could banish them from the realm.  He wouldn’t have them killed since Frigga had wanted them to come and they were under Frigga’s and Thor’s protection as well as Loki’s.  But Odin could stop them from ever coming back.  

Sig kissed his cheek.  “It’ll be alright, Lokes.  Your proteges won’t let you down.  Or do you have so little faith in your teaching?” she teased, joking with Loki to ease the tension and his worry.  She knew him so well and the teens saw how well she dealt with him, easing his fears with a smile and a few words.  It was amazing to watch. 

They paused in a hallway that Thor explained was in the family wing.  “Lady Wanda, come with me, I will help you dress for Asgard,” Sig tells Wanda kindly.  Wanda hesitates, she’s still a little hesitant around strangers, though she liked what she saw of Sig so far.  She also knew that Loki wouldn’t send her with someone who couldn’t be trusted. And Loki was also careful of propriety, he usually presented as male and wouldn’t help Wanda dress, even if she would need assistance with the Asgardian clothes.  So he was sending her with his fiancee, who he would trust to help her and keep the girl safe.  She looked over at Loki for confirmation.

He inclined his head.  “Go with Lady Sigyn, witchling.  She will help you dress.  You will also be staying in her suite with her while you are staying on Asgard,” he reassured her.  Traditionally, the guests would be given their own rooms, but since they were minors from Midgard, and Loki promised their safety, they all felt it better if their visitors were staying with Loki and Sig.  It wasn’t like they didn’t have extra bedrooms for their visitors.  

Wanda nodded and went with Sig down one end of the hall.  Sig started chatting with Wanda, getting the teen to open up.  Loki led Peter to his own suite while Thor went to his own to freshen up before he appeared before Odin.  

Peter looked around the room in awe.  It was large and airy, decorated in Loki’s colors.  He had two bedrooms, plus a study, and the sitting room, and bathing rooms. He also had a balcony that looked out onto the gardens.  Peter bounced around looking at, and taking pictures of, everything.  Loki chuckled as he watched his overexcited friend.  

“Arachnid, come get dressed before you tip me over to a seven,” Loki told him when he’d had enough of the teen’s excitement.  

“Good idea, there’s no bakeries here to drag you to to cheer you up,” Peter replied with a grin.  He usually dragged Loki to bakeries or out crime fighting with him when he needed to calm down and cheer up.  Or when he needed to relieve stress, usually from Stark pushing his buttons.  They couldn’t do either of those things in Asgard. 

Peter would have to figure out quickly how to lower Loki’s evil-ometer while they were on Asgard since he usual strategies wouldn’t work.  It was imperative he have a way to keep Loki from being homicidal, especially if things with Odin really were that bad.  

Maybe Sig had some ideas.  She seemed like she’d know. 

Peter was distracted from his thoughts and made a face when he saw the court clothes that were laid out for him.  “You expect me to wear that?!?!” he demanded at the elaborately decorated tunic.

“Yes.  I do,” Loki replied pleasantly, too pleasantly.  Peter knew by that tone that there was no negotiating or wheedling his way out of this.  Especially when it was so important to Loki that he be properly attired for court.  Peter sighed heavily and rolled his eyes, but dressed and let Loki make sure everything fight properly and was laying as it should. 

Peter had another plan anyway to distract Loki.

“Why didn’t you tell me that you have a fiancee??!?!” Peter demanded once he was dressed and Loki was satisfied.  

Chapter Text

Loki sighed and took a seat on his favorite couch in his sitting room and gestured for Peter to take a seat as well.  This wasn’t a conversation he was looking forward to.  He’d been dreading it since he and Peter had become friends. But it was a conversation he’d known he would have to have with Peter at some point.  He’d hoped he would have more time before he had to have this conversation with his best, his closest friend.  

Before he risked losing his friend.

Would the teen understand?

Could he understand?

He was so innocent and naive in so many things.  He’d accepted Loki without a second thought.  Would he, could he, accept the things Loki had done? The decisions he’d made?  

Obviously, he knew that Loki had been considered a villain.  He had come up with that ridiculous number system because of it.  But Loki didn’t know what the kid really knew of the battle of New York.  Of the things Loki had done.  

Would he still be his friend when he knew?

Loki had to risk it.

Peter deserved the truth.

From the God of Lies especially.

Peter deserved the truth.

Why was it so hard?

Loki didn’t realize that he was playing with his hands, picking absently at his left palm as he tried to come up with the words he needed.  He was known as silvertongue and trickster.  He was known for tricks and lies.  

He needed the truth now.

Not a story, not a fabrication, not an excuse.

He needed to give Peter the truth.

He needed to risk his best friend’s care and friendship.  He had to let his friend go and see if he would remain his friend.

“The story is a long one and not one that is particularly pleasant,” Loki started, looking at his hands as he spoke.  Peter realized that despite that he had asked a flippant question about why Loki had hidden his fiancee, he was getting a serious answer in reply.  There was a legitimate reason for the secrecy.  Peter waited patiently, especially difficult for the spider-child with ADHD, and listened to Loki tell his story.  

Along with being the God of Lies, Loki was also the God of Stories.  

No matter how awful the events of the story were, the telling of it would be fantastic.

Peter nodded to show Loki he was listening and Loki continued.  “I did things I’m not proud of, though I thought they were best at the time.  Thor was banished to Midgard, Father fell to the Odinsleep, and the throne passed to me on Mother’s orders. Before Thor was banished, he ignited a war between Asgard and Jotunheim.  I did everything in my powers to stop the war, though I was sabotaged by Thor’s idiot friends refusing to believe I had a plan,” he shook his head, shaking those thoughts aside, that part of the story was neither here nor there.  “Sig and I had been engaged for years by then, have been friends since we were children, but it hadn’t been the right time to get married yet.  I fell from the bifrost after the Jotuns were dealt with and ended up in the care of Thanos and his associates,” Loki shuddered at the memory.  He looked up at Peter’s hand on his shoulder, offering him comfort and support.  He gave his friend a small smile. 

“Everyone thought I was dead.  At the time, I thought I would have been better of if I had died.  Midgard would have been better off.  I was tortured before Thanos forced me to attack New York, to attempt to get the infinity stone and take over Midgard.  You know the tale, how I orchestrated the Avengers assembling and made sure I would be defeated so Thanos would not win.  It was the best I could do.  I am not proud of the things I did under Thanos’ thumb, or while I was king of Asgard-”   

“It was mind control, Loki!” Peter protested. He couldn’t stop from interrupting any longer.  “It wasn’t  your fault!”

Loki inclined his head.  “That does not mean I am proud of the things I did.  I did terrible things and I knew Midgard thought of me as a villain.  Hel, Father thought of me as a villain and threw me in the dungeons until Mother begged for my release. That is why I am serving that ridiculous penance on Midgard.  Father had to save face somehow.  Anyway, when I came to Midgard, I thought it best not to let anyone know about Sig, and Thor agreed to keep the secret.  I did not wish for her to be in danger if knowledge of her existence came to light.  I would not risk her safety when I did not know how hostile the Midgardians would be toward me because of how I’d hurt them, regardless of fault.  I would not risk any of my enemies discovering her and coming after her,” his voice sounded pained at the thought of his lady love in danger.  It had been unthinkable.  

“Thanos knows I am alive and that I failed him.  I do not hope to think that I will escape his wrath forever.  I have been working with the team, Father who finally believes in the threat, as well as the idiot Midgardian sorcerer to establish a plan for the day he does come for me, for Midgard, for all of us,” he paused, fighting back terror at the thought of Thanos coming after him, of the things Thanos would do to him for failing.  He’d been tortured until Thanos had broken his mind, bending him to the mad titan’s will, and that was before Loki had failed him.

“I had not spoken with Sig since I took the throne in Asgard.  I refused to put her in danger when we faced war and I refused to put her in danger afterwards.  Things have changed in recent months, though.  The people of Midgard see me as an Avenger now.  They have realized that I was a victim in the battle as much as they were,” he paused again, regathered his thoughts.  “Sig is not entirely safe with me, but she has forgiven me for keeping her safe.  I am a warrior of Asgard after all and it is to be expected.  She is as safe as I can make her and it is time to stop trying to hide her to keep her safe,”

Peter thought over Loki’s words.  “You missed her,” he accused.  That was why Loki had introduced her now.

Loki inclined his head.  “And I missed her.  She was my near constant companion since we were children.  She was raised in the palace and studied magic with Mother alongside me.  We were not separated until she went to continue her magical education at the Academy and I had to take on more responsibilities and lessons in ruling in my duties as prince of Asgard.  Even in those years I saw her as often as we could.  It was not until these last few years that we were truly separated.  And I hated every single moment of that separation,”

Peter hugged him tightly.  “I’m glad you have her back.  And I’m glad you have someone to love that much,” he told his friend.

Loki breathed a sigh of relief that Peter didn’t think less of him for his past or the decisions he’d made. “Two, Arachnid, because you are wearing Asgardian court clothes and I have photographic evidence to show to your friends.  And Aunt,”

“Delete that footage!!!” Peter demanded in a wail and Loki burst into laughter.

Chapter Text

“Are you ready for this, Arachnid?” Loki asked Peter as they stood outside the double-doors to the throne room.  Both of them were wearing Asgardian court clothes, which Peter wouldn’t admit he found comfortable.  Thor was with them as well in his good armor, Mjolnir hung from his belt.  They saw Sigyn and Wanda coming down the hall to join them, both lovely in Asgardian style gowns.  Loki smiled when he saw that Sig was wearing his colors, as was tradition.  She looked absolutely gorgeous in green. 

Wanda was wearing her usual red.  She looked so grown up in formal Asgardian dress and she held herself like a court lady.  Loki was proud of her. She’d come so far from the scared child they’d rescued from Hydra.  Now she looked and acted like a court lady.  

“Not at all~” Peter whined, drawing Loki’s attention back to the teen.  Peter tugged on his sleeves, making sure his web shooters were covered.  Peter didn’t have to worry about wearing his suit in Asgard as there was no reason for him to hide his identity, Asgardians were used to magic and people having powers, so they wouldn’t at all be surprised to see the teen’s abilities.  He also didn’t have to hide as everyone of import already knew all about Loki’s blood brother and his abilities and skills and how he fights criminals on Midgard. They also knew of Loki’s little magical protege in Wanda.  

Loki suspected that his mother was behind everyone knowing about his friends.  Of course his proud mother would want to brag about the friends and allies that Loki had made.  Loki had never been good at making friends and she was proud he’d made such close ones.  

The ladies reached them in front of the double doors.  Loki kissed Sig softly.  “You look lovely as ever, my darling,” he told her with love shining in his eyes.  Peter wondered how Loki had kept his fiancee a secret with how much he clearly loves her.  

Peter would never have been able to keep that information to himself.

Though Loki kept insisting it was a miracle that Peter managed to keep his identity a secret. The boy couldn’t keep any secrets.  Including the movie plot to a movie he promised to go see with Loki, but Ned had gotten tickets to an earlier showing, so Peter went with his human friend first.  And then ruined the movie for Loki the second he got back to the tower since he was so excited over it.  

Loki had been livid and threw Peter out the window for that.

Peter, of course, had been just fine and swung back in through that same window less than a minute later.  Stark had ranted at Loki for hours about defenestrating Peter and Peter wasn’t allowed to spoil secrets, or face Loki’s wrath.  

No one thought Peter would actually succeed in that.

Everyone expected more flights out the window on Peter’s part.  Especially since Peter wouldn’t fight Loki on it, since he thought it was fun to go flying out the window.  

Loki turned to Wanda and lifted her hand to his lips to kiss her knuckles with the bow of a court gentleman.  “You look wonderful, little sister,” he told her warmly.  “So grown up and just like a court lady.” He chuckled at her blush.  

Thor cleared his throat. “We shouldn’t keep Father waiting,” he reminded them.

Peter and Wanda both groaned.  “Why, do we have to meet your father?” Peter asked, sounding nervous.  He’d prepared for ages for this, but was still nervous, especially with all the terrible things Loki had said about Odin since he knew the god.  Especially since he was going before the king of Asgard, protector of the nine realms, the Allfather.  

“Every visitor to the realm must go before the Allfather,” Loki reminded his blood brother patiently.  “Especially those who come to Asgard at the invitation of the royal family.” The teens were there under the invitation and protection of Frigga, Loki, and Thor.   There was no escaping meeting the Allfather.

Peter sighed.  “Eight.  Let’s get this over with, witch,” he grumbled.  He didn’t often use the number system for himself, but Loki always took him seriously when he did.  

“You’ll be fine, little spider,” Loki replied fondly, reassuringly.  He was the god of lies, but he valued the truth and took care to be truthful with those he cared about.  Most of the time anyway.  

Loki straightened Peter’s collar before the group made their way inside.  Sig was on Loki’s arm.  They looked so regal and perfect together.  They also looked like they had spent a lot of time walking together like that.  Probably centuries of experience, Peter realized.  

Thor nodded to the guards and started inside the throne room when they opened the double doors.  He strode forward with confidence.  He had nothing to fear from Odin, unlike the rest of them.  Loki and Sig followed Thor and Peter with Wanda on his arm.  It was a prescribed procession and they made their way up before Odin’s throne.  Odin was an intimating as usual as he sat on the throne in all of his glory, gungnir in his hand as he looked over his children and their guests making their way to his throne.

They all stopped in a line before him and bowed or curtsied.  “We have returned home, Father, and bring our guests before you,” Thor announced.  Loki usually let Thor take the lead when they came before Odin.  Odin liked Thor better; Thor was the golden child after all.  Loki only usually stepped in when he was asked a direct question or needed to get Thor’s ass out of trouble.  

“Rise, children,” Odin replied.  He looked down at the teens.  

Loki stepped forward.  “Allfather, I present our guests, Peter Parker, the Spiderman of Midgard, fighter of crime,” he gestured to Peter who bowed again.  

“It is an honor to meet you, Allfather,” Peter replied politely in well-rehearsed Asgardian.  Loki had drilled the phrase into him for weeks.  He bowed again, though didn’t hold it, rising immediately.

“And my magic student, Wanda Maximoff,” Loki indicated Wanda, who curtsied again and spoke the same reply Peter had.  Loki could see that both teens were nervous as Odin evaluated them with his limited magic, his ability to see the future, the knowledge he had gained from losing his eye.

Loki was afraid that Odin would deny the teens, would deny his friends simply because they were his friends.  They were mortals in Odin’s realm who he only allowed because of Frigga’s interference. Loki caught her standing where Wanda and Peter couldn’t see her, watching to make sure her husband behaved and Loki nearly sighed in relief.  

“Welcome to Asgard,” Odin finally told the teens who did sigh in relief.  He wished them well in his realm and warned them to obey his laws.  The entire group was relieved when they could escape the throne room.  Peter sagged against the wall down the hall from the throne room.

“That was terrifying,” he told Loki.  “Still an eight,” he whined, practically banging his head on the wall.  

Loki chuckled.  “You did well, little spider,” he reassured his friend.  Peter didn’t look appeased.  Loki laughed harder.  “Would it make you feel better if we turned the people in the dungeons into goats?”

Peter opened his eyes and gave Loki a look.  “I can’t turn people into goats,” he reminded Loki, but seemed to relax from the question.  

“No, but I can.  And perhaps I can lend you enough magic to turn one into a goat.  One” Loki replied with a mischievous grin.  Peter laughed and lit up at the prospect of using magic, even for just one spell.

Chapter Text

Sigyn laughed at the silly boys.  “I’ll show your student the gardens, shall I?” Sig asked. The girls would let Loki have his fun. She figured that Wanda wouldn’t want to go down to the dungeons and turn criminals into goats. Wanda wanted to see more of Asgard and really had no desire to see the dungeons, so she agreed to see the gardens with Sig.  

“If Sif doesn’t find you two first,” Thor replied with a smirk.  He knew something the girls didn’t.  Thor didn’t smirk for no reason, unlike Loki, who seemed to always be smirking.  

“Why would Lady Sif be looking for us?” Wanda took the bait and asked the question. 

Thor’s grin only grew.  “Sif wished to goad you into sparring with her.  She wishes to see the might of the little lady on our team on Midgard.  As well as Loki’s protege,” 

Wanda raised an eyebrow.  “Lady Sif wants to spar me?  That hardly seems fair…” Wanda’s tone made it clear that she didn’t think Sif stood a chance in a fight with her.  She had a lot of power and Loki was teaching her magic and combat.  

Thor boomed a laugh.  “She wants to see the spiderchild in action as well,” he explained. Peter shrugged, he was game for sparring with an Asgardian besides Thor and Loki.  Thor grinned.  “Good, I will let her know,” he grinned and headed off to find his lady and give her the good news.  And probably make out with her.  A lot. 

Sig and Wanda waved and headed out to the gardens and Loki led Peter down to the dungeons.  He took his friend the long way, giving him a tour of the palace (and letting the annoying little spider take pictures of everything).  And they just so happened to make a stop by the kitchens on their way.  The two of them quickly came up with a hair-brained scheme involving an illusion, a small explosion, a lot of spiderweb, and a water balloon and left the kitchens with a basket full of pastries, desserts, and meat filled pastries.  They left the kitchens laughing like children and continued on their way down to the dungeons.  

Loki gave Peter a tour of the dungeons, telling him of the crimes of the criminals they passed as they did.  “Choose your victim wisely,” Loki warned Peter.  “I’m only giving you this ability once,” 

“Is it possible to give someone magic?” Peter asked curiously.  Damn kid was too curious for his own good.  “Someone who didn’t already have it?” he pressed when Loki hesitated to answer.

Loki paused.  “There are ways to unlock a being’s magical abilities.  All living things have magic.  There is magic in life itself.  Only those of us born with seiðr, with traditional magic, ever manifest those powers without external stimulation,”

“Like how Wanda got her powers from the mind stone?” Peter asked too astutely.  The boy picked up any piece of knowledge placed in front of him.  Or that he wasn’t supposed to know.  He was like a sponge, especially about magic and science.  

Loki inclined his head.  “Very much so.  She never would have gotten her powers otherwise.  She needed that catalyst to unlock her potential.  And there is no guarantee it would have worked.  Hydra had many experiments that failed before the experiment on Wanda and her brother succeeded.  I will not risk your life by experimenting on you,” he told Peter firmly before Peter could ask.

Peter hung his head. He had been about to ask.  “Alright, Mr. Loki,” he replied meekly.  This once, Loki knew the old term of address meant that the teen really was taking him seriously.  

Loki nodded, accepting that the arachnid wouldn’t ask him, and Loki wouldn’t do it even if he did ask.  “This spell, however, is just to let you borrow my abilities for the length of one spell.  You are simply using my power.  Now, let’s go over the spell,” Loki told him and led Peter through some complicated hand movements.

“You’re just doing this to make me look stupid,” Peter protested.  “You don’t do all this to turn someone into a goat.  Most you do if flick your wrist,” he grumbled.  He wouldn’t put it past Loki to make him do all these stupid gestures.

Loki huffed a sigh and rolled his eyes.  “I am a master magician of Asgard.  I learned this spell centuries upon centuries ago.  I no longer need the silly hand movements to channel the power properly.  This is the very first spell you are doing.  You need the hand movements,” Loki replied and continued his work.  “Now, which victim would you prefer?” Loki asked the teen once he had the movements down.  

Peter pondered the now terrified prisoners.  None of them wanted to be anywhere near Loki teaching magic to someone.  From their expressions, this had happened before and the results weren’t always pleasant. Peter finally picked someone who’d attacked a village of innocents, slaughtering them until the einherjar had caught him.  He was destined for the axe as soon as he could be brought before Odin.  Loki kept his hand on Peter’s shoulder, feeding him just enough magic as the teen walked through the spell.  Loki was also making sure it didn’t go wrong and a moment later, the power flowed through Peter to the man and there was a goat in the cell instead.  Peter whooped and jumped in joy.  “That was amazing!” he moved closer to the goat to get a good look at it.  He also snapped a picture.  Loki couldn’t help chuckling at the spider’s excitement.

“Congratulations on a successful first spell, spiderling,” Loki told him with a smirk.

Peter laughed and hugged Loki.  “I’ll never be a master magician like you, witch, but that was fun!” 

Loki chuckled.  “You’re quite welcome, arachnid. I’m glad you’re in a better mood. Now let’s go find the girls, shall we?” he asked and turned to lead Peter from the dungeons to go find their wayward ladies. 

Chapter Text

Loki led Peter straight to the practice courts.  He felt that was the safest place to start the hunt for the girls, especially if Lady Sif was looking for Wanda to evaluate her skills.  Loki could have found them by magic, but where was the fun in that?  Especially when he got to show the arachnid more of his home in the hunt.  

Or so he thought.

The girls were in the outdoor practice courts.  They’d been caught by Lady Sif, it appeared.  Thor was standing nearby, watching.  When Loki and Peter approached, Sig was being dragged into the sandy practice circle by Sif.  Sig was groaning and whining and generally complaining that she didn’t want to spar against Sif.  Thor chuckled and dragged Wanda away from the practice circle, where she’d be safe on the sidelines. 

“Isn’t Sig a healer?” Peter asked Loki softly as Sig drew a dagger in one hand and her magic shimmering around the other to face off against Sif.  Sig at least looked ready to face down the warrior. 

Loki inclined his head.  “Sig is a healer, but she is also a lady of Asgard.  All ladies of Asgard must learn to defend themselves, at least well enough to hold off an attacker long enough for a proper warrior to come to their aid,” Loki explained.  “Sig and I trained together as children.  She is plenty skilled with that blade and she graduates from the Academy tomorrow.  She has the physical and magical skill to take on Lady Sif and win if she is careful,” Loki added, sounding proud of his love.  

They watched from the sidelines as the girls sprung into action.  Sif was at an immediate disadvantage for fighting entirely with weapons, while Sig had magic to aid her.  Sif was a skilled fighter and both of their blades were blurs as they moved.  It was clear that they were both skilled fighters.  It was equally clear that Loki had trained with Sig when they learned how to fight.  The two fought identically.  

It was a difficult battle, even with Sig’s magic. Sif was fast, but Sig was faster, especially with her spellcasting.  Loki would be hard-pressed to match Sig’s spellcasting speed and ability.  It was a long battle, and Sig barely scraped a win.  

Wanda was looking apprehensive as she watched, despite her earlier bravado.  Her confidence was shaken seeing how skilled Sif was and now she was doubting her abilities.  Loki wasn’t going to stand for that.  He and Peter made their way over to Wanda. 

“What’s wrong, little sister?” Loki asked her gently, wrapping an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close to him. 

Wanda leaned into him, looking nervous.  “Lady Sif is so good!” she whined nervously. Peter placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder, though this reassurance was more Loki’s area of expertise than Peter’s.  

Loki chuckled and Wanda relaxed a bit just from that.  If Loki could laugh over it, then it couldn’t be too terrible.  “Lady Sif has been studying weapons and combat for centuries,” Loki reminded her.  “But if you are careful and remember what I’ve taught you, you will be able to defeat her,” he reassured her with such faith in his voice that Wanda didn’t dare really disbelief him.

Even if he was the god of lies.

“Are you sure?” she asked in a small voice, though she didn’t really doubt him, not with how much faith he had in her abilities.

Loki laughed.  “I’m sure, little sister.  I have trained you to fight after all.  I know your skills better than most, and I know Lady Sif’s as well.  Keep your head and temper and you can prevail,” Loki reassured her.  Sif had cooled off from her battle with Sig and gestured for Wanda to take her turn. Loki gave Sif a look not to truly harm his student before he let Wanda go out to spar her.  

“Choose your weapon, little witch,” Sif bid her, gesturing toward the practice weapons.  

Wanda took her position in the practice circle and gave Sif a smirk worthy of Loki.  “I have my weapons,” she replied.  Sif raised an eyebrow at the seemingly unarmed teenager.  Loki chuckled and settled back to watch the show, summoning a bag of popcorn from… somewhere.

No one questioned where Loki summoned things from.

It was safer that way.

“Got a hot dog in that dimensional pocket of yours?” Peter asked with a grin.  

Loki rolled his eyes.  “That is hardly food,” he grumbled at Peter, but provided him with a hot dog as requested.  “We have got to introduce you to real food, Arachnid,” Loki continued his grumbling while Peter laughed.  Wanda was relaxed at hearing them laughing.  They had to believe in her if they were comfortable enough to laugh and joke.  

The match began, Sif wary of the girl with no weapons.  Wanda’s magic glowed red around her hands.  Sif rushed in to attack and Wanda ripped her sword from her hands, throwing it out of the ring before she grabbed Sif with her magic and held the woman upside down. Sif threw a blade at her.  Wanda dropped her as she rolled out of the way.  She threw a bolt of magic at Sif as she fell. Sif rolled back to her feet, but Wanda caught her again with her magic, holding her immobilized in the air.  

“Yield!” Sif finally called when she realized she couldn’t move and Wanda had incapacitated her.  Wanda put her down with a grin.  

Loki chuckled. “I told you that you could take her on if you were smart,” he told Wanda and hugged her tightly while she beamed with pride.  Sif groaned that Wanda had cheated by using magic.  

“Mages who cheat survive the battle,” Wanda replied obediently.  Loki had drilled that line into her numerous times as he taught her magic and combat skills.  Using magic in battle was considered cheating to the Asgardian warriors.

As Loki said, and as his beloved Mama had taught him: cheaters survived to battle another day.  

All was fair in love and war after all.

Chapter Text

Sif turned to Peter.  “Your turn Spiderboy,” she told him with a smirk, gesturing to the practice circle.

Peter rolled his eyes.  “It’s Spiderman, not spiderboy, not spiderling, not spiderchild,” he grumbled.  He turned to Loki.  “It’s your fault people keep getting my name wrong,” he insisted.  Which was partially true.  Loki liked his nicknames for the teen.  It was one of the ways he showed they were friends.

Loki looked shocked and innocent.  A halo of magic actually appeared over his head.  “Who? Me?” he asked too innocently. 

Peter rolled his eyes.  “Yes, you Elphaba,” he teased, calling Loki the witch from Wicked. 

Loki chuckled.  “Go get beaten up quickly by Lady Sif, Arachnid,” he said, making a shooing motion toward the practice court. “Then we can do something actually fun,” Loki taunted his friend.  He really did want this sparring match over quickly.  He was bored of sparring matches already.  Sparring wasn’t exactly Loki’s favorite activity and he was getting bored.

Bored

Bored

Bored

Peter rolled his eyes.  “Thanks for the vote of confidence, witch,” he grumbled and made his way out onto the practice circle. 

“You don’t need a vote of confidence, Arachnid.  You will do just fine.  Remember, she fights like Thor,” Loki called encouragement and waited on the sidelines. 

Sif rolled her eyes as Peter approached.  “Don’t you have any weapons either?” she grumbled at him.  She didn’t like being faced by kids with no weapons.  Especially since it meant they had tricks up their sleeves. 

“Nope, don’t need ‘em,” Peter replied with his trademark grin. 

“Don’t get cocky, Arachnid.  She’s the goddess of war and this terrain isn’t in your favor,” Loki warned, afraid the kid was going to get himself really hurt. 

Loki needn’t have worried.  He’d trained Peter well in hand-to-hand combat.  The kid’s speed and agility kept him safe in the battle, and his web slingers eventually got the best of Sif.  It was hard to fight the spiderchild when one couldn’t move to actually fight said spiderchild. 

Loki smirked and hugged Peter when he’d won.  “Well done, Arachnid,”

“Cheater,” Sif grumbled good naturedly while Peter freed her from the webs.  Luckily, he’d remembered to pack the dissolving solution or Sif would’ve been trapped for two hours. 

Peter grinned.  “It was a good match, Lady Sif,” he said warmly.

“Your protege is far too much like you, Loki,” Sif teased Loki, who offered an elegant bow.

“I do my best,” he said, proud of his adopted siblings.

*

“Why do I have to dress even fancier?” Peter whined late that afternoon as Loki was helping him into his court clothes for the evening. 

“It is hardly fancier, as this is the same outfit you wore to meet the Allfather this afternoon,” Loki replied dryly.

“Six~” Peter whined, trying to use his silly evil scale to get himself out of an uncomfortable dinner.

“Liar,” Loki said, wrinkling his nose.  Lies always smelled bad to the god.  “You are simply uncomfortable.  You will spend a lovely evening eating way too much food, drinking none of the alcohol, and then you will dance with your lady and enjoy every moment of it,” Loki reminded Peter.

Peter sighed and didn’t bother arguing with Loki since he was right.  He hated when Loki out reasoned him with things like logic.  How dare he.

After they were dressed and ready, they met up with Thor, then the girls, and headed to dinner.  Sif was on Thor’s arm, Sig on Loki’s, and Peter copied them, offering his arm to Wanda.  The teens mouths practically dropped open when they saw the great hall decorated for the feast.  The full court was there, all in their finest for the feast.  Odin and Frigga were presiding over it and Loki, Thor, and their entire group took seats at the head table. 

The teens were a bit uncomfortable sitting with the royalty.  Their fears were alleviated quickly when Frigga smiled warmly at them and started asking them questions about how they enjoyed Asgard so far.  The teens answered enthusiastically about everything they’d seen so far.  Peter had to explain his camera when he started taking pictures of the court and the feast.  Which also somehow led to him getting a selfie with Frigga.

No one knew how that happened, but it was one of Peter’s most prized pictures. 

Loki explained all of the dishes to the teens as they were served so they would know what they were eating.  They were game to try anything and everything was delicious.  They were stuffed before the end of the fourth course, but they kept gallantly making their way through dishes so they could try everything.

After the feast (and the twelve billions desserts that Loki gladly devoured) came the dancing.  Loki led Sig out for the first dance and Peter and Wanda just stared.  They knew Loki was a good dancer.  He’d taught both of them after all.  They didn’t understand the depth of his skill until watching him with his love.  Peter recorded the entire thing and the court watched on in awe as the pair glided across the dance floor, magic shimmering around and after them.  There was absolute love in Loki’s eyes and joy as he got to dance with his Sigyn again after so long apart.

After that first dance, the rest of the court got brave enough to go out on the dance floor.  Peter and Wanda joined them, keeping to the edge of the dance floor.  Thanks to Loki, they knew enough to keep up, but they still weren’t the best dancers and they couldn’t hold a candle to the court-trained Asgardians.

They danced the night away, having a blast dancing with each other and some of the braver court lords and ladies.  Loki stole a dance with Thor because he was an annoying little shit and men dancing with men wasn’t taboo on Asgard.  Thor huffed and rolled his eyes, but put up with Loki’s shenanigans.  Even while Peter recorded the whole thing.  They traded partners all night, though for the last dance, they were back with their proper ladies. 

They found their beds late that evening and Peter fell asleep with visions of visiting Hogwarts the next day in his mind.

Chapter Text

Peter was bouncing all the way through breakfast, even as he, Loki, Wanda, and Sigyn devoured pastries for breakfast.  Loki loved the pastries Cook made as much as he loved pancakes on Midgard.   Thor stayed well away from the pastries, not willing to risk his life to get past those four and their  sweets.  Or at least he intended to, but they smelled so good, so Thor had to try. 

“How unlikely is it that I can get a pastry?” he asked the group, looking pathetic.

All four of them looked at the giant pile of pastries on the table in front of them, then back to Thor.  “Extremely unlikely,” Loki told Thor pleasantly before he shoved another pastry into his mouth. 

Thor sighed.  He knew Loki well enough to know that he wouldn’t give up his pastries.  The group laughed and happily went back to their breakfast while Thor pouted.  “You four are all far too similar,”

“I blame Elphaba,” Peter replied with a grin and stuck his tongue out at Loki.

“I am not Elphaba,” he grumbled and poutily shoved another pastry in his mouth.  Wanda and Peter both burst into laughter.

“So what are you four up to today?” Thor asked when the laughter died down.

“We’re going to Hogwarts!” Peter practically vibrated in his seat he was bouncing so excitedly.

Thor looked to Loki and raised an eyebrow.  “We’re going to the Academy.  The annoying arachnid wishes to see the school that he thinks is like the one in his Midgardian book, Wanda wishes to see the magic classes, and Sig is graduating today,”

“Why are there classes when it’s graduation?” Peter asked with his never-ending curiosity.

“The school is year-round,” Loki explained patiently.  “Classes will be cut short for the ceremony late this afternoon.  We should get going if we want to get there before classes begin.” The teens scrambled to their feet, excited to see the academy.  Loki vanished the pastries to bring them with him, leaving none for Thor.  Thor pouted so pathetically at the empty pastry plate.

“Elphaba, you should leave a pastry for Uncle Thor,” Peter scolded.  There were times Loki still needed to remember morals and manners. Usually when it came to stabbing or otherwise being mean to Thor. 

Loki huffed and rolled his eyes.  “Only so you won’t pester me all morning, arachnid,” he replied and summoned a single pastry in front of Thor, who lit up at his brother being nice.

The group left and Loki hired a carriage to take them to the academy.  Usually he would teleport, or ride his horse, but the teens didn’t ride and he was sure they wanted to see more of Asgard.  Especially when Peter kept taking pictures of everything.

“Why are they singing?” Sig asked Loki quietly on the way to the school. 

Loki had tuned Peter and Wanda out and focused his attention back on them at Sig’s question.

“Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts, teach us something please~” the teens were singing, all grins and excitement.

Loki sighed heavily and pinched the bridge of his nose.  “There is a book on Midgard about a magic school.  They are singing the school song because they think it amusing to compare our Academy to the magic school of their story,” he explained, sounding exasperated. 

Sig laughed.  “I’ll have to read that book sometime,” she said. Loki summoned a copy of the first one and handed it to her.  She grinned and kissed his cheek.  “Thanks, Lokes.” She vanished the book as they approached the school.

School wasn’t the word for the giant castle of the Academy.

The teens stared up at it when they’d climbed out of the carriage.  “This really is Hogwarts,” Peter said, in complete and total awe of the castle.  Loki took his phone from him and took a picture of Peter’s stupid open-mouthed expression. 

Peter took a ton of pictures as Loki and Sig led them through the castle.  They showed off the classrooms of students in their uniforms.  (Robes insisted Peter and Wanda).  They showed them the potions rooms in the dungeons, which Peter took too many pictures of.  The library (yet more pictures, especially of the floating books).

“This is totally Hogwarts!” Peter told Loki excitedly while Wanda was pouring over the classes that were offered.

Loki chuckled. “You haven’t even seen the, what was it called in English?” he paused and looked for the word he needed.  “Quidditch pitch,”

“You. Have. Quidditch???” both teens demanded, their eyes wide with excitement.

Loki laughed and led them outside, explaining the game that was played on brooms high up in the air and the balls, bats, hoops, and rules.  Everything he said had the teens insisted that he was describing quidditch. 

Loki huffed and rolled his eyes at their insistence while Sig laughed.  She was the one who passed out brooms to the teens and took off into the air on her own.  Loki stole pictures from the safety of the ground of his love and adopted family playing totally-not-quidditch with students of the school.  Peter and Wanda caught on quickly, and since it was the brooms that were enchanted to fly, they didn’t need magic of their own to participate.  Loki, however, much preferred his feet on the ground where he was less likely to fall and die.  So he took pictures of the pure joy on Peter’s and Wanda’s faces.

And swore to himself that he’d never let Aunt May see the pictures of Peter flying on a broom.

He didn’t have a death-wish after all.

And Aunt May was scary.

Even to Loki.

Chapter Text

Loki watched the teens and Sig play quidditch for awhile before he whistled, using magic to make sure they heard him.  The three of them flew down to see what he wanted and why Loki of all people was interrupting their fun. Loki didn’t interrupt fun.  He lived for fun.

He gave Sig a warm smile and kissed her cheek when she flew up next to him, finally tall enough for Loki to just lean over and kiss her without having to bend down so far.  She stuck her tongue out at him, knowing he was silently teasing her for her short stature.  Peter took a picture of the pair for photographic evidence. 

Or to use against Loki when they got home.

Loki wasn’t entirely sure which.

He glared over at Peter.  “Arachnid…” he said warningly.

Peter gave him an innocent look.  “Yes, Elphaba?” he asked too innocently.

“You’re planning on distributing that video, aren’t you?” Loki asked, sounding resigned to Peter’s antics. 

“How else am I going to prove to everyone that you have a fiancé?” Peter protested.  The team would never believe him as Loki hadn’t mentioned Sig to anyone on Midgard.  Even Thor had kept quiet about her existence. 

“Six,” Loki grumbled, annoyed at his friend teasing him.  “There is a reason I did not tell those on Midgard about Sig.  It was safer to keep her existence secret from them,” he explained patiently to the spider.

Peter raised an eyebrow in a very Loki-like expression.  “Why would you need to hide her?”

“To keep her safe.  You know the truth behind the battle of New York.  And you know that… man… is still after me.  If word got to him that I have a fiancé, I doubt Sig would remain safe.” Thanos would use Sigyn to hurt Loki without hesitation.

Peter still looked confused. “Then why tell us now?” he asked Loki, knowing the amount of trust Loki was putting in him and Wanda. 

“I have my reasons,” Loki replied, not quite ready to explain them to the teen.  Peter knew not to press Loki when he wasn’t comfortable with a subject and nodded.  He’d wheedle it out of Loki in time.  Befriending Loki had taught him a bit of patience.  Though only a bit.

“So why’d you call us down here?” Wanda asked, getting them back on track as she finally dismounted her broom, however reluctantly.  She loved flying.  Loki saw it and sighed.  He’d have to help her learn to use her powers to fly.  She was capable with a bit of manipulation of her powers of flying. 

Loki just wasn’t thrilled about the prospect of teaching her, since that would involve him having to fly.  And Loki was not a good flier. 

“It’s nearly time for graduation, Sig.  You should go get ready,” Loki addressed his fiancé. She glanced at the clock-tower and cursed. 

“I lost track of time!” she said and after kissing Loki quickly, zoomed off on her broom to get ready.

Loki chuckled after her and turned to the teens.  He led them at a much more sedate pace back into the castle.  They got seats right in the front, thanks to Loki’s title.  No one would dare keep him from being front and center for his fiancé’s graduation.  The ceremony was beautiful and full of magic as each student was presented with their accomplishments. 

Sig made her way up onto the stage when she was called by the headmistress.  She looked adorable in her student robes and Peter snuck more pictures of her, which Loki didn’t mind this time.  “Lady Sigyn, daughter of Freya, has excelled in all of her studies at the Academy.  Though most impressively is her excellence in the art of healing,” the headmistress gestured to someone off stage and everyone was shocked to see Frigga herself come out on the stage. 

Including Sigyn.

Most especially Sigyn.

Frigga approached the girl and handed her a small jewelry box, the perfect size for a necklace.  Sig opened it while Frigga spoke.  “Very few students I have taught have done so well in their studies to be awarded a position at the palace to train with the healers upon graduation.  Even fewer have earned an apprenticeship with me.  And none before now have done well enough to earn their full healer’s credentials upon graduation. You have earned your healer’s wings through your hard work, Lady Sigyn.  Wear them with pride.” There were tears in Sig’s eyes as she never thought she’d earn her full credentials at graduation.  No one did.  Ever.  They had to spend years toiling under Frigga’s watchful gaze after graduation before they earned the honor. 

The audience cheered at Sig’s accomplishment, though none louder than Loki for his beloved fiancé as she pulled out the necklace and clasped it around her neck.  Healers were cherished as true healers were so rare and a healer of such caliber was cherished. 

Nothing could beat the look of pride in Loki’s eyes as he watched Frigga hug Sig and congratulate her again. 

Peter took more pictures as proof that Loki cared about something besides Loki and Peter and cheered nearly as loudly as Loki himself.

The cheers were cut short by alarms blasting throughout the palace, academy, and surrounding grounds.  Loki listened for a moment, to gauge the exact tone and rhythm they were using, discerning the message from that.  He grabbed Peter and Wanda and dragged them up onto the stage.  He looked to Frigga.  “Mother, please return to the palace.  We will handle the danger,” he bid her, remaining polite and calm because it was his mama and he couldn’t actually order her around, much as he wanted to teleport her to safety. 

Frigga nodded, willing to leave the danger to the warriors.  She would ready the healing wing in the meantime.  “And your soul-brother and student?” she asked, preparing to take their arms and teleport them back to the palace with her. 

Loki shook his head with a smirk.  “They stay. They may look young, but they are both trained in combat,” he said with pride.  He looked to Frigga and paled slightly. “Not that you aren’t capable, Mother,” he tried to backtrack quickly.

“But the queen’s place is at the palace,” she bailed him out, amused.  She kissed Loki’s cheek and bid him to be careful before she vanished.

Loki turned to Peter and Wanda as his armor shimmered into place.  Sig’s was doing the same as he spoke.  “Suit up, Spider-child, little witch.  That alarm is only sounded for one thing:  frost giants have invaded Asgard,”

Chapter Text

“Frost giants?” Peter asked, though he knew.  He’d seen all the movies about the team, including the Thor movie and the Avengers.  The studio had been threatened very heavily by Fury and the team to make sure the movies were accurate and the tone correct.  They’d also been bullied into making sure the team saw the final movies before they were out of time to make corrections.  In exchange, the team was active in promoting the movie, which definitely helped movie sales. 

Long story short, Peter had seen the movies enough times to have them all memorized, though he hadn’t really watched more than the Iron Man movies until after he got to know the team.  Regardless, he knew well about Loki’s heritage.   

Loki didn’t share what he was, though, even though Peter had forced him to see all the movies.  He never claimed to be a jotun, describing himself as Asgardian when asked, or forced to introduce himself.  He always claimed ‘Odinson’ as a last name.  He claimed it was because people liked Thor and would be more accepting of Loki and his reform if he claimed the same last name as his brother.  It was also because, much as he despised Odin’s many faults, he still saw his adopted father as his father, and couldn’t bear the thought of claiming Laufey as a parent.

That didn’t make Peter and less worried about how Loki would fare facing his own people. 

Loki’s armor had shimmered into existence and he turned to Peter and Wanda.  Wanda’s clothes had shimmered to her battle costume as well.  Her armor was made of some Shield creation that was as protective as kevlar.  She wore black pants and boots and a red top and duster jacket, all designed to protect her.  Loki had refused to let her wear that leotard from the comics.  And had stabbed the agent who suggested it.  The agent had been quietly investigated and very publicly fired for being a disgusting pedophile and the leotard was scrapped from ever being suggested for Wanda again.

Peter didn’t have magic to summon his suit with. But Loki and Tony had worked together to make a suit creation for him, contained in the watch he wore.  It was one of the very few times Loki and Tony ever had or would work together, but they’d done it for Peter’s sake.  Peter tapped it and his suit formed around him.  Loki mentally sighed in relief, knowing Peter would be safe from the giants’ cold.

“What’s the plan?” Peter asked him.  Fighting on Asgard was Loki’s area of expertise so his charges would take their orders from him. Sig held a palm up and an image appeared of the fighting, zooming out so they could see the jotuns at the gates to the palace.

“We’ll join the main fighting there,” Loki pointed to where Thor was flying in.  “Stay close to Thor and his idiot friends,” much as the warriors three were drunken idiots, they were also skilled warriors.  He looked at Peter and Wanda firmly before he added in a tone that would not be disobeyed.  “Do not let them get a hand on you. They can give you frostbite in an instant and kill you with ice, even through all the defenses in your clothes,” Loki warned them, remembering his last trip to jotunheim. That trip hadn’t gone well at all and he didn’t want his friends in danger. 

Both teens nodded gravely and Loki took Peter’s arm and Sig wrapped an arm around Wanda.  They teleported and appeared beside Thor in the battle.

“About time you showed up,” Thor greeted Loki as he bashed a giant in the head with Mjolnir.

“We were at the academy!” Loki protested, taking Mjolnir from Thor and bashing another giant with it.  The giant just stared at Loki holding the famed hammer.  Word hadn’t spread yet that he was worthy. 

Peter and Wanda leapt into the battle, Peter webbing up the giants and tripping them up, making them easier for the warriors to deal with. Wanda used her magic to contain the battle and shield the fighters from harm.  Sig was teleporting all over, stabbing giants in a flurry of movements and speed that matched Loki’s fighting style immensely. The pair had trained together for centuries and it showed in their fighting.

Sig lit up when she saw Loki and teleported over to him.  “You’re worthy!” she said excitedly when she saw Mjolnir in his hands.  She was so proud of him for finally being worthy after so many centuries of thinking himself lesser than Thor, he had finally proven himself his brother’s equal.

Loki lit up in delight, beaming at the pride in her voice.  “I am, my love,” he told her warmly.

“Stop flirting and start fighting, you two!” Fandral teased.  Loki laughed and tossed Mjolnir back to Thor, summoning his daggers to get back to the battle. He and Sig fought back to back for awhile, magic surrounding them dangerously.  He caught Peter staring in awe at the skill they displayed as they fought and swore to himself to train the spider-child in martial arts later.

The fight was long and difficult and Loki saw a group of jotuns surround Peter and all rushed in to attack him at once.  Peter tried to jump out of the way, but he was at a disadvantage on Asgard where he didn’t have tall buildings to stick to.  Loki growled and teleported over to his blood-brother as fast as he could. He threw the jotuns away with magic and turned to Peter.

“Are you alright, arachnid?” he asked.

Peter nodded, then Loki felt the kid’s tension and turned to look behind him.  “Where is the lost prince?” the jotun demanded as he reached out and grabbed Loki’s arm.  Clearly, he knew that Loki was the Asgardian prince.  He and Thor were pretty obvious, being who they were.  And thought that Loki would know where their missing Jotun prince was. 

Fuck

That’s what they wanted?

Loki was screwed if they found out who he really was.  He didn’t know why they were looking for the lost prince, but he didn’t want to find out either.

“Loki!” Peter called, fear in his voice. 

Loki looked and tried to figure out why.  Then he saw the jotun still held his arm and had eaten through his armor with his cold.  Loki’s arm had turned blue. 

His entire body had. 

He hadn’t even felt the cold.

He quickly slew the jotun before he turned to Peter, horror clear on his face.  After all this time of being friends with the spiderling, he expected to be rejected for his blue skin and crimson eyes.   

Chapter Text

Loki’s skin had gone entirely blue.  His illusion had shattered under the cold of the jotun’s touch and he was left vulnerable as he looked at his blood-brother with horror in his crimson eyes.  

He could believe that Peter accepted that he was genderfluid, that he was both male and female.  Peter was trans after all, that made it easier to accept.  Not that Peter needed such an excuse, but it was true all the same.  

This? 

This was different.

Loki wasn’t human.

He wasn’t Asgardian like he claimed to be.

He was jotun.  

He was a monster with blue skin, crimson eyes, and strange markings on his skin.

He came from a feared race of barbarian savages. 

And now Peter absolutely knew the truth and saw Loki for who and what he really was under his illusions.  He saw the monster under Loki’s skin.

Loki waited with bated breath for his blood-brother’s reaction.  He ignored the battle raging around them, ignored the other frost giants, ignored Thor, who knew what he was, and Sig, who like Peter knew, but hadn’t seen.  Right now, his focus was on Peter, on his unlikely friend, on his blood-brother.  

Loki wouldn’t be able to stand it if Peter rejected him for this.

And still he expected to be rejected.

How could anyone accept a monster like him?

His own father, the man who had adopted him, had taken him from jotunheim, had never accepted or loved him.  He’d taken Loki from his home only to be a pawn, a hostage for peace.  The last heir to the jotun throne.  He had said that he had rescued Loki from death being left alone in the temple to die.  

Loki hadn’t believed the words then.

He didn’t believe them now.

Why would Laufey leave his heir to die?  It didn’t make any sense with a war going on and no guarantee that Laufey would survive to create more heirs.  He wouldn’t get rid of the one he had, even if Loki was a runt by jotun standards.

It was much more likely that Loki was left there for safety while his biological parents fought the Asgardians. 

Loki would never really know the truth, as Odin would never tell him and Laufey was dead. 

The battle seemed to freeze around Loki and Peter as all of these thoughts swarmed Loki’s mind.  He was so sure that Peter couldn’t handle it, that he was about to lose his best friend, his blood brother, because of what he was.  

Then the flurry of battle seemed to start again, though it had never really stopped.  It had only seemed that way to Loki’s enhanced perception.  Loki ignored the battle, his attention on the young man in front of him.  

Peter ripped off his mask to stare up at Loki, giving Loki his full attention.  He took in Loki’s appearance, took in his blue skin, his jotun form, took in the lines on his skin, his crimson eyes.  He took in the haunted fearful look in Loki’s eyes.  His eyes widened in surprise, then shock, then horror and landed on fear.  Terror and panic filled the young man’s expression.

Peter said he always wore a mask for two reasons: to protect his aunt by having a secret identity and so his enemies could never see how afraid he was. 

So there was only one reason for him to remove his mask now:

He wanted Loki to see his fear.  

And Loki’s heart shattered.

He couldn’t bear the thought of that fear on Peter’s face.  Of the fear of him.  Loki had never harmed the child, had somehow befriended him, had laughed and joked and become more than friends.  They’d been family

Until now.

Now, Peter was afraid of what Loki was.  

He couldn’t handle the monster under the skin.

“Loki, your illusion.  Put your illusion back on!” Peter told him frantically, panic in his words.  He glanced around them and used a web to grab Thor’s cape and yank it off of him, throwing it over Loki in a desperate sort of panic as he his Loki from view.

Wait.

This was panic, not true fear, but something else in Peter’s eyes. 

What was the spider doing?

He wasn’t irrational, even afraid.  Sometimes he was stupid and a teenager, but his decisions were rational, even when wrong.

So what was he up to?

“Arachnid?” Loki asked softly, fear creeping into his voice, though he tried to hide it, tried to hide his heartbreak at Peter’s reaction.  

At the fear he saw in Peter’s eyes.  

At the rejection he expected to see there. 

Then he realized, there was no rejection in Peter’s eyes.  Just that panicy fear.

“They’re after you, Loki,” Peter said, terror in his voice, though he spoke quietly so only Loki could hear.  “They’re looking for the lost prince of Jotunheim.  That’s you.  You’re Laufey’s son!”

It hit Loki then.  Peter wasn’t afraid of him.  Peter was afraid for him.  Afraid that he would be dragged back to Jotunheim, to a land he didn’t want to live on or rule.  He didn’t want to lose his blood-brother, lose his friend.  

He was trying to save Loki, not reject him.

Loki nodded and worked to summon his illusion back.  It took a minute as the battlefield was cold with so many jotun around. He hugged Peter when his Asgardian form was back, relief flooding through him.  “Don’t fret, arachnid. We’ll deal with the danger.  Everything will be alright,”

Peter nodded, trusting that Loki could fix anything.  Loki looked to Thor.  “We cannot allow them to escape,” he told his brother.  “They know,” he prayed that Thor wouldn’t ask, and his brother didn’t.

Instead they turned to defeating the jotuns.  Thor insisted they leave as many as possible alive and just send them home.  Loki agreed on the condition that he was allowed to erase their memories.  He wouldn’t risk being caught and dragged back to jotunheim.

He wouldn’t lose his friends or family.

Chapter Text

Loki tossed Thor his cape back as soon as the battle was over.  He looked over at his brother with desperation in his eyes.  “Did we get all of them?” he begged of his brother. This wasn’t the skilled warrior the teens had seen throughout the entire battle. This was a terrified boy seeking his older brother’s protection.  

Loki didn’t want to go back to Jotunheim.  He didn’t want to be king there.  He knew nothing about the Jotuns except what Odin had taught him and Thor as boys: that the Jotuns were monsters, savages, horrible brutes of creatures. Loki hadn’t come to terms with the fact that he was biologically a Jotun.  He was raised Asgardian and it was so against his beliefs to even consider.

Now it was being shoved in his face.  

He was going to have to deal with it.

The only consolation so far was that Peter hadn’t rejected him. 

Thor nodded and gave Loki a reassuring look.  “We got them all.  Your secret is safe.  For now,” he added that last, though he didn’t need to.  Loki knew that the Jotuns would be back to find Loki again.  They weren’t going to give up until they found their lost prince.  

Loki nodded.  “I need to speak to Mother.  Will you look after Peter and Wanda?” he asked Thor.  He wouldn’t leave the teens alone without someone he trusted when they were both strangers to this realm.  Maybe in a few years of visits, but not on their first trip to Asgard. 

Thor nodded.  “I will look after them,” he promised.  He understood Loki’s concern and wouldn’t leave the teens on their own either.  

Loki breathed a sigh of relief, though gave Thor a stern look.  “And you are not to give either of them alcohol,” he reminded his brother.  

Thor rolled his eyes.  “I’m aware,” he said dryly. “They are children,”

“We’re NOT children!” Wanda and Peter protested at the same time, which made Thor, Sigyn, and Loki all laugh at the same time.  

Loki went to Sig.  “Are you alright, darling?” he asked her, full of tender doting concern that the Midgardians generally thought him incapable of. Peter, Wanda, and the team knew better now, after they’d seen him with Peter for months.  

Sig smiled brightly up at him, her armor shimmering back to proper court clothes.  She cupped his cheek.  “I’m perfectly fine, my love,” she replied warmly and kissed Loki softly.  The teens jeered them along with Thor’s idiot friends.  

The only proper response was for Loki to flip them off and kiss Sig more thoroughly.  She didn’t mind in the least.

Loki eventually broke away and cupped Sig’s cheek.  “I need to speak with Mother about this battle.  Will you be alright, darling?” 

She laughed.  “I’m not a delicate court flower, Lokes.  I’m perfectly capable of helping the other warriors clean up.  Besides, I’ll be needed in the healing wing,” she reminded him. 

He nodded and kissed her again before he headed into the palace to track down his mother after warning the teens to behave.  Frigga wasn’t hard to find.  She was in the healing wing where she’d said she would be.  Loki couldn’t help feeling relieved that she was alright.  It didn’t matter that none of the enemies had so much as gotten past the palace threshold, Loki would still worry over his mama.  

Frigga looked up when he came in and she saw that it was her son.  Her eyes widened in alarm.  Loki held up a hand to stop her concern.  “I’m uninjured, Mother, don’t fret.  I just need to speak with you about the attack.  I need your advice,” he said.  Frigga nodded and the pair of them went into her study.  

“What’s wrong, darling?” Frigga asked when Loki sat down picking at his hands.  He always did so when he was nervous.  It was a habit he’d gotten from her so reading him was always like reading herself.  

“The frost giants were after me,” Loki admitted softly, looking at his hands. He could barely admit this to his mother, though she’d adopted him, so of course she knew his heritage and had loved her adopted son as if he were her own.  

“Do you know why?” she asked him gently. She didn’t want to break Loki, especially while he was already upset over this and upset over having to admit he was a frost giant.  She knew that he hadn’t accepted that part of himself.  He was raised Asgardian and saw himself as Asgardian, no matter what his biology said. 

Loki nodded and hesitated, swallowing and taking a deep breath before he could speak.  “They were looking for their lost prince.  They wanted to drag me back to Jotunheim to rule,” he said, terror in his voice that Frigga wouldn’t defend him. He was afraid she’d tell Odin, who would be all too quick to ship him back to Jotunheim as a gesture of good will. 

Frigga nodded.  “It will be alright, darling.  We’ve prepared for something like this.  We will give false trails out to the other realms and the Jotuns.  They will have no reason to believe that you are the lost prince,” she reassured him and spelled out the entire plan for him. 

Loki relaxed at her reassurances, but still had to question. “And Father?  He won’t send me back?”

Frigga shook her head.  “No, he will not.  You are our son,” she said firmly. She would defend Loki and make Odin make the right decisions concerning him.  

Loki moved to kiss her cheek.  “Thank you, mother,” he said, reassured that he was safe. Frigga would never give him up.  She smiled warmly and Loki left her study and the healing wing.  

He was surprised to find Peter right outside the healing wing’s door.

“What’s the number, witch?” he greeted Loki, clearly concerned over Loki after the battle and hoping the conversation with Frigga went well. 

“Three.  Everything is alright arachnid,” Loki reassured him with a smile and the pair began to plan the rest of their time on Asgard. 

Chapter Text

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Peter asked in a whisper on their last morning on Asgard.  They were perched on the rafters above the morons’ lair, also known as the warrior’s lounge.  It was the room where Thor, Lady Sif, and the Warriors Three liked to hang out in while they weren’t out on missions for the throne.  Loki and Peter were out of eye and earshot of Thor and his friends where they were perched.  Loki had teleported up there while Peter had swung up with a web.  His webshooters were hidden under the sleeves of his Asgardian court clothes. 

“It is an excellent idea.  They will absolutely hate it,” Loki replied with mischief and glee in his eyes.  His magic was crackling dangerously around him and had been since the night before.  It was getting harder to control it, so this had to happen now.

Peter smirked, glad Loki was having so much fun.  Loki hadn’t played any pranks lately, so he was due.  At least his pranks wouldn’t really hurt anyone today.  “Now remember, you must not hit Lady Sif.  She will kick both of our assess if she is caught up in one of my pranks,”

“Scared of a girl?” Peter teased in a whisper.

“That girl is the Goddess of War.  I have good reason to respect her strength,” Loki replied.  He wouldn’t admit to fearing Sif, but he would admit to having a proper amount of respect.  And he’d rather not get stabbed that day.  Doing the stabbing was much preferable to being stabbed. 

“You’re still having most of the fun here,” Peter reminded him in a huff.

Loki smirked.  “Nonsense, there is plenty for you to do,” he reassured the teen softly.  He waited until all of the morons were seated with their mugs of ale before he nodded to Peter.  “Now!” He said with his Cheshire Cat grin. 

Peter nodded and silently swung down from the rafters.  He wrapped an arm around Sif’s waist and swung her up onto the rafters and to safety before she could complain.  He stuck to the rafter and made sure she was secure there. 

Of course at that point, Thor and the warriors three knew that something was wrong, but by then, they were already trapped in Loki’s prank.  And very, very doomed. 

The casks of ale started pouring, and pouring, and pouring as the room filled with ale.  The warriors and Thor cursed and told Loki to stop it, while Loki just sat on his rafter laughing at them as they attempted to wade through the ale to stop the flow out of the caskets.  Soon they had to swim through the stuff.

“Loki! Enough!” Thor called up to the rafters at Loki’s cackles as he was swimming in ale.  Somehow all of the ale stayed in the room and didn’t slip out into the hall.   

Loki considered Thor’s yells for a moment and decided that was enough on this particular prank.  With a snap of his fingers, the ale was gone, replaced by snakes up to the mens’ waists. 

“That is not better!” Volstagg yelled, not knowing if the snakes were real or not.  Or if they were poisonous if they were real.  Fandral started swinging his sword at the snakes, which didn’t help. 

Loki and Peter both laughed at how ridiculous they looked when they knew the warriors three weren’t in any danger.  Loki looked to Sif.  “Any requests?” He asked with a grin.  She was smiling while she watched as well, not quite to laughter yet.

“I do so hate it when Loki needs to burn off magic,” Fandral whined as he fought off the snakes, despite that it wasn’t doing him any good. 

“What was that hair-growth spell?” Lady Sif asked innocently.

Loki grinned “An excellent idea!” He replied, beaming at her.  The snakes were gone in the next instant and the warriors’ hair and beards started growing at an alarming rate. 

“What did he mean about burning off magic?” Peter asked curiously while Loki was turning the warriors’ hair different colors as it grew and grew and while they cursed at him and tried to hack off the hair with their blades to no avail. 

“Magic needs to be used and trained or it goes haywire,” Loki reminded Peter.  It was a lesson he’d overheard plenty of times when Loki was teaching Wanda.  “I have not been using much magic lately and need to use some.  Without an active project to use it on, the best solution is to annoy Thor’s friends for awhile,”

“He does this every year or so,” Sif added.  “Before he figured out this trick a lot of things blew up when he had too much power stored up,”

Loki nodded “And it would be even worse now as I have stores and stores of excess power besides what my body can hold.”

Sif shuddered at that.  “I’ve lived through the explosions when you were a child, Trickster, I don’t want to live through them now,” she said.  “You and Sig both had that problem.  Too damn strong for your own good,”

Loki laughed.  “Yes, and it was years before we figured out how to safely burn off power on occasion,” he replied fondly at the memories. “I invited her today, but she used up a lot of power during finals at the Academy,” he added before Sif could ask about it.

Peter looked concerned.  “Are you sure this’ll help?” he didn’t like his adopted brother being in danger, hurt, or sick, though he wasn’t sure he really understood this need to burn off magic.

“Don’t fret, Arachnid.  This will most certainly help. I’ll burn off some magic, take a nap, and be right back to normal,” he reassured the teen. Already, his magic wasn’t crackling so badly around him.

He spent the next hour or so using magic on Thor and his friends, taking suggestions from Peter and Sif for magical things to do to them.  None of it was truly harmful, things like turning off gravity, turning their weapons into loaves of bread, filling the room with sneezing powder, sending a herd of puppies running through the room. It was all silly harmless stuff.

Loki eventually ran low on magic and waved his hand, ending the spells.  He made it up to the warriors for their help by summoning the best ale in the realm and their favorite foods to go with it.  He teleported down to the floor and the warriors cheered him.  He always gave them a good reward for putting up with his nonsense for an hour. 

Peter came down by web, bringing Sif with him.  As soon as he set her carefully on her feet, he realized that Loki was swaying on his.  “Loki?” He asked wide eyed with fear at seeing any sign of weakness from the god.  He rushed to Loki’s side and wrapped his arms around Loki’s waist to steady him.

“I’m alright, Arachnid, just low on power.  I’ll be fine after I rest for a bit,” he reassured the teen.  He’d had to burn nearly all of his power to rebuild it properly.  Peter wasn’t sure that made sense, but he trusted Loki when it came to magical matters.  He also knew that Loki wanted to do this at home where he was safe.

Peter fretted the entire way as he walked Loki back to his suite.  He insisted on making sure Loki was tucked into bed and safe before he’d even consider leaving Loki’s side.  Even then, he sat and read nearby, concerned over the god and just how much power he’d burned. 

It meant the world to Peter knowing that Loki trusted the teen to keep him safe while he was weak.  He took that responsibility more than seriously, keeping guard while Loki rested and his magic replenished with sleep.

Chapter Text

The next morning, Loki, Thor, Peter, and Wanda all made their way to the Bifrost to head back to Midgard.  Frigga and Sigyn both went with the group to see them off.  Loki and Sigyn had decided that it was safer for Sig to remain with Frigga on Asgard.  Loki trusted them to keep each other safe and they were both on the lookout for any sign of Thanos.  Loki didn’t trust Odin to believe him about the mad titan, but his mama and fiancée did. 

That knowledge didn’t stop Loki from hugging Frigga far too tightly and kissing Sig with way more passion that was entirely appropriate for in front of his mother, or in front of the queen of Asgard.  They were the same person, yes, but there was a difference between what Loki’s mother would accept verses what the queen of Asgard was willing to let slide.  Even still, Frigga didn’t comment about Loki’s too prolonged and passionate kiss with his fiancée.  It might be awhile before they saw each other again after all. 

After the final goodbyes, the group headed into the Bifrost to return to Midgard.  Loki held onto Wanda and Peter as they went through, knowing the trip on the rainbow bridge was jarring for those not accustomed to it. 

They arrived safely outside of the tower and Loki escorted the teens inside quickly while Thor entertained the paparazzi.  They tried to keep Wanda and especially Peter out of the spotlight.  Sure, Peter was seen being friends with Loki around New York, but they did at least attempt to hide his secret identity.

The keyword was try.

Really, Jarvis just kept the information secret on the backend and sent false trails as to who Spiderman might be.  Poor Jarvis had to work overtime on some days to keep Peter’s secret when he was particularly bad at hiding it.  He’d done a really good job making it look like a lame conspiracy theory that Stark’s intern was Spiderman and made it look like a hoax. 

The secret would get out eventually, but the entire team wanted it to be on Peter’s terms.

The team was waiting in the common room for the group to return and they all jumped to their feet to welcome them home.  There were plenty of hugs for Peter and Wanda who appreciated them.  And for Thor once he’d joined them.  Only Nat was brave enough to hug Loki without risk of getting stabbed.  Loki was smart enough not to stab her.  She stabbed back and was scary.

That evening they had a big welcome home dinner and even had Aunt May over to the tower to join them for the fancy catered meal.  Peter babbled on and on about their trip to Asgard and all the cool things they’d seen, including showing off all the pictures Peter had taken of Asgard.  Thor, Loki, and Wanda interjected parts of the stories as well.  Everyone was beyond amazed that Peter had managed to get a selfie with Mama Frigga. 

“This is Hogwarts!” Peter said at the pictures of the magic academy.

Loki huffed and rolled his eyes.  “Arachnid, it’s the Academy of Magic,” Loki reminded him in a tone that was overly patient.

Peter grinned across the table at him. “Like I said, Hogwarts,” he replied.  Loki pinched the bridge of his nose in exasperation at the teen’s comments. 

Wanda giggled. “It was quite a lot like being at Hogwarts,” she admitted. 

Loki changed the topic to the dancing and pictures of Peter in traditional Asgardian formalwear, which had Aunt May grinning. “Are you going to use these in your report?” She asked Peter, who blushed at the idea of the school seeing him in Asgardian dress.

“What report?” Loki asked curiously.  He hadn’t heard anything about a report.  He would have made sure Peter had whatever he needed for his studies while they were on Asgard. 

“We have to write a report of what we did on our summer vacation,” Peter explained. He wasn’t looking forward to writing the report, which was clear in his expression.  “I was planning on writing about the trip to Asgard, especially since I have pictures to back it up,” he explained.

Loki smiled.  “I’m sure you’ll do well on it, Arachnid,” he said fondly.  Peter was brilliant and he was sure the spider could do well at anything he decided to study or do for school. 

Aunt May grinned.  “Yes, let’s start the year on a good note this time,” she said in an exasperated parent tone, which got the eye roll from Peter it deserved.  The entire table laughed at the exchange. 

Loki found himself smiling fondly.  This is always what he thought a true family would be like.  It wasn’t something he’d ever experienced on Asgard, though Thor had.  Loki had always been the outcast, only truly understood by Frigga.  But here?  Here he had somehow become part of the group and could laugh among them and be welcomed among them for who he was. 

It had taken time for them to forgive him for the Battle of New York, but after they knew it wasn’t his fault, that he was mind controlled, they were much more open to getting to know him.

And a lot of the change was Peter’s doing.

Loki owed him more than the spider child knew.

Loki’s attention was drawn back to the conversation when Tony spoke again.  “Who is that?” Tony demanded at one of the pictures.

Loki turned his attention to it to see which one Jarvis was currently displaying on the wall.  He smirked when he saw it was a picture of him with his arm around Sigyn.  “That is Lady Sigyn, healer of Asgard, daughter of Freya,” Loki explained and everyone could see the gentleness and fondness in his expression.  His smirk only grew to a Cheshire Cat grin, though.  “My fiance,”

“Fiancee?” The team demanded while Loki, Thor, Peter, and Wanda, burst into laughing at the outraged astonishment on their faces.   

Chapter Text

Loki quickly found that he quite disliked summer vacation.  For one thing, it was summer and Midgard had much hotter summers than he’d anticipated.  So he spent most of his time hiding in the air conditioning in the tower.  Which didn’t put him in the best of moods.  

That spring, Stark had grudgingly allowed him a small plot in the grounds surrounding the tower to plant a little garden.  It reminded him of his mother’s garden on Asgard, and included quite a lot of flowers that were native to Asgard and didn’t grow on Midgard.  Though he and Peter had gone to a shop to find additional flowers to add.  Stark had tried to tease Loki for the garden, but the team had made him stop.  They were glad to see Loki having a hobby that involved growing things and creating instead of stabbing people. 

Except now, it was so hot outside that Loki couldn’t tend his flowers during the day and only got to see them in the early morning or late in the evening.  He was afraid that soon it would get too hot out for even that.  His cooling spells could only do so much and the heat drained him.  It was why he could never go to Muspelheim and had nearly died the one time Odin had forced him to go there with Thor.  He hadn’t known he was Jotun at the time, only that he was weak to the heat. 

The other problem Loki had with summer vacation was that he had much less time with Peter than what he was expecting.  He spent plenty of time with Wanda, teaching his adopted little sister as much magic as she could learn.  She ate it up and devoured the magic as if it were a natural part of her, not the work of Hydra to give it to her. 

Loki had thought Peter would be around more during the summer holiday.  He thought they would go on more patrols and he would be constantly in the tower.  He thought he was going to have a summer of fun with his friend.

Instead, Peter had gotten a real internship at Stark Industries.  So Peter spent all day at the company.  His patrols had gotten limited, and he barely saw anyone as he was learning so much with Stark.  

Loki abhorred it.  

He wanted his friend and brother back.  He was tired of being cooped up.  And he hated feeling alone.  

So Loki did what any sane, logical being would do.  

He went to Stark Industries to find his friend.  It wasn’t hard to find the building, nor was it particularly difficult for him to teleport there.  He wasn’t draining all of his magic to walk there, as the heat would drain his power trying to keep him cool.  It was much less power to teleport across town.

Getting IN to the building was slightly more challenging.  Loki wasn’t exactly on the invite list and there was security to deal with.  But a bit of magic convinced Happy and the lovely security people that he was completely authorized in the building and had full security clearance.  

The next problem was finding the spiderchild.  

Loki was getting bored by then and didn’t much fancy a hunt through the giant labyrinth of a building to track down the arachnid and wherever Stark stashed him away.  So he made his way to Stark’s office and sat behind his desk.  He would never dare sit behind Pepper’s desk.  She would kill him.  Stark would just be annoyed.

He propped his feet up on Stark’s desk and laced his fingers behind his head, lounging.  It was only a matter of time before Stark found him.

And find him he would.

It took awhile and quite a few more pranks throughout the building before he was found than Loki would have expected.  He wasn’t sure Stark would notice all the coffee in the building turning to decaf.  Though someone should have noticed when all the water turned to vodka.  They were probably just keeping it quiet so they could have more vodka.  Someone should have noticed when every inch of the building was decorated for Christmas though it was the middle of summer.  They just shrugged it off as typical office behavior.  Same with the donuts that appeared on every flat surface.  

So Loki had to step up his game.  He didn’t know what the final straw was, whether it was giving every single employee cat ears and tails, dressing everyone in the building in footie pajamas, enchanting the artwork to move, turning all of the screensavers and computer backgrounds to Cap wearing nothing but his shield held very strategically, and changing Jarvis’ voice to sound like Minnie Mouse.  

Finally, and predictably, Stark came storming into his office once he was personally the butt of the pranks. He stormed in dressed in nothing but a pink speedo with his hair magically dyed the same shade of hot pink.  He was trailed by Peter, who was trying to contain his laughter.  “What are you doing here? Put this back!” Stark demanded.

Loki burst into laughter, sitting up from where he was still lounged in Stark’s expensive office chair.  “About time you showed up, Stark,” he teased, but gestured and Stark was dressed again in his usual jeans and band t-shirt.  Only because Loki didn’t want to see Stark in a speedo. 

“I was in the middle of a very important business meeting,” Stark growled at Loki, who only laughed louder. 

“Elphaba, why are you here?” Peter asked, getting back to the point at hand.  

Loki gave him a warm smile.  “I wished to see your internship, Arachnid,” he said too innocently.  His tone clearly told his friend that he missed him. 

Peter caught it instantly. He beamed at Loki.  “C’mon, let me show you the project I’m working on!” He said brightly and grabbed Loki’s hand to drag him through the halls of the building to his lab so he could babble about his project and tell Loki all about it.  

They both ignored Stark yelling over his pink hair.  

“Two,” Loki informed Peter when they’d been in the lab for awhile, feeling much better with his blood-brother back.

Peter grinned.  “We’ll go patrol after I finish this up,” he promised, which made Loki’s day even better.

Chapter Text

Needless to say, Loki was banned from Stark Industries after his day of pranks there. Also needless to say, banning him did less than no good.  Loki spent the rest of summer break helping Peter in his lab in the building and security couldn’t do a damn thing to stop him from doing so.  

Stark didn’t like it, but he didn’t complain too loudly as long as Loki wasn’t playing pranks.  The Trickster played a lot fewer pranks when he wasn’t forced out of the tower.  Tony found that out the hard way when he’d gotten security to somehow throw Loki out one day.  Loki had filled the entire building waist high on every floor with teddybears shaped like Loki, wearing his armor from the build a bear store.  Every piece of artwork in the building had been replaced with pictures of Loki too.  When Loki vanished the Lokibears, some of them were being cuddled by the employees, so he allowed those to stay.  He wasn’t cruel after all.  

Stark had been livid, but as Loki hadn’t actually hurt anything, Pepper and Thor took Loki’s side and told Stark to lighten up.  Loki’d even agreed to try to behave as long as he wasn’t banned from the building and from seeing and helping Peter. 

It also helped that Loki was a literal genius and was an expert in much more complicated technology than the stuff Stark and Peter were working with.  The first day the three of them all worked in the same lab together, Stark and Loki wouldn’t even speak to each other.  All their communications had to go through Peter.  It was all “Kid, tell Reindeer Games…” and “Arachnid, tell Shellhead…” By the end of the day, they were at least speaking to each other. Somehow Stark didn’t get stabbed and Loki didn’t get blasted by a repulser.  That was progress.  

Most evenings, the Loki and Peter went out on patrol together, sometimes joined by others, sometimes not.  They always stopped part of the way through patrol to have dinner with the team, sometimes at the tower, sometimes in the city in uniform.  Peter was careful never to remove his mask when he was eating in uniform, he just lifted it so his mouth was free to eat.   Though there were some evenings that they worked so late that Peter went out with Tony for dinner.  

The paparazzi always noticed either occasion and took pictures of where the Avengers or where Tony Stark and his star intern were.  Peter’s name had become known for that, though they had tried to keep it quiet.  It was too hard not to when the Tony Stark had taken special interest in an intern.  It was noted that Peter was being groomed by Stark.

Someone even had the gall to insinuate that the youth was being groomed.  He was quickly dealt with by Stark’s team of lawyers and no one dared make the accusation that there was anything sexual going on again.

And still, somehow his identity as Spiderman had remained hidden.  

The only problem with Peter working at Stark Industries was that he couldn’t spend his summer working for the Avengers as much as he’d like.  He couldn’t leave Stark Industries to go on missions without being noticed.  Even when Loki and Tony both left in their armor.  

One day in the last month of Peter’s summer vacation, that very thing happened.  While they were working in the lab, Jarvis made the announcement.  “Mr. Stark, Loki, there is an emergency mission.  The team needs you at the tower,” 

Loki’s armor shimmered into place while Tony summoned one of the many Ironman suits that existed in the building.  There was always one within easy summoning distance. 

“Please let me come, Mr. Stark!” Peter begged, once he realized that the pair were getting ready to leave without him.

Stark shook his head.  “Not this time, kid,” he said as his Ironman suit formed itself around him.

Peter looked to Loki, who also shook his head.  “No, Arachnid.  Too many people have seen you here.  It is not safe,” they were both concerned over Peter’s secret identity.  It only hung on a thread as it was.  And it would be obvious if Spiderman was seen leaving the building with Loki and Ironman.  

Peter huffed and started to protest, but Loki and Stark both gave him the same stern parent look and he backed down. “Stay here,” Stark told him firmly.  “And stay safe.” Peter nodded reluctantly and sat back down on the lab stool with a huff.  “Let’s go,” he told Loki and the pair headed out of the building to return to the tower and find out what the mission was. 

The mission was Hydra causing trouble and sending monsters to attack the city.  It was something they did frequently and the only reasoning the team could see behind it was that they liked annoying the Avengers.  

They should really stop annoying Loki, though, he had better things to do.  Though he WAS on Midgard for the express purpose of helping the team as a form of penance for trying to take over the realm.  Even though he’d been under mind control at the time. 

The entire team made it out to fight the monsters.

“Pep, I’m kinda in the middle of something right now,” Stark said as he blasted a monster.  He sounded distracted over the comms as he spoke to Pepper as well as the team.  He usually didn’t let himself get distracted, but Pepper always had a line straight through to his suit.  

“I know.  But you’re needed at headquarters,” Pepper sounded panicked and the entire team, including Loki, heard her over the comms now.  There was very little that could frazzle Pepper, so it got everyone’s attention when something did.  

“Pep…” Stark started.

“It’s Peter,” Pepper interrupted quickly.  “The building is under attack.  They got through security-“ Pepper wasn’t there. She was across the country on business.  So she must’ve gotten the news from security. “They’re looking for him in particular, Tony-“ she pleaded.  

Tony turned in desperation to find Loki on the battlefield.  He caught Loki’s gaze.  “Go.  We’ll handle things here.” Despite everything between them, Tony knew that Loki could get there faster than even he or Thor could flying.  Loki could teleport that far and not be drained.  He knew that despite how little he himself trusted the god, he could trust that Loki could and would do everything and anything within his powers to save Peter.  No matter how illegal it was.  

Loki didn’t give a single fuck about legality.  Not in the best of times and especially not if his blood brother’s life was in danger. 

Loki gave a brusque nod of acknowledgement and teleported off to Stark Industries, hoping he would get there in time. 

Chapter Text

Loki reappeared in Peter’s lab in Stark Industries.  His temper grew even more deadly when he saw the destruction in the room.  All of the equipment was destroyed and in pieces around the room.  “Arachnid?” Loki called as he surveyed the damage.  He hoped that Peter was hiding behind some broken equipment, or up in the vents imitating Clint, but there was no answer.

Loki’s fear spiked at the lack of answer.  Peter wouldn’t play around, not when the building was under attack.  He strode from the destroyed lab and went straight to Happy’s desk.  He wasn’t wasting time in finding Peter, not when Happy should know what was going on.  “Where is he?” He demanded without preamble, his magic sparking green around him.  

He didn’t feel Peter anywhere in the building, which was only increasing his worry.  Thankfully, Happy realized that today was not the day to antagonize the god.  Loki was there to help and if Happy cared at all about remaining in one piece, he wouldn’t do anything that would hinder Loki.  

If he was very, very careful, he might even survive the encounter with the incredibly enraged god.  Loki’s temper was legend for a reason.  Everyone who came across him before Peter was safely found would find that out the hard way.  He and Thor weren’t always obvious about the fact that they were literal gods.  Especially when they were on Midgard.  Loki was flaunting all of his power now and the mortals in his presence nearly fell to their knees at it.  This was the man who had tried to take over Midgard.  This was Loki at his worst.  And this wasn’t a mind controlled Loki.  This was the calculating, clever, crafty god in full control.  And that made the malicious glint in his eyes all the worse.

For this was the god who would do anything and everything in his power, laws and morality be damned, to get his blood brother back safely. 

There was a reason that gods were to be feared.  The malicious maelstrom of power surrounding Loki and growing in power as it fed on Loki’s rage reminded every single person in the building to have a healthy respect of the god.  And to never, ever do anything that would piss the Loki off like this again. 

Especially when Peter or Sigyn, the leashes on Loki’s temper, weren’t around to keep him reined in.  Thor sometimes could in a pinch, but there was usually a lot of stabbing Thor in the process.  

Right that moment, Loki was enraged and everyone near him could feel it.  Happy managed to avoid peeing his pants as he looked at the angry god.  “We don’t know.  The attackers were looking for him.  They took him in a black van,” he said and pulled up the security footage so Loki could see for himself.  

The footage showed the building being attacked by what Loki assumed were Hydra agents. A lot of agents.  They demanded Peter, then began the search of the building for him.  They found him and escaped with him.  Peter hadn’t been able to fight them without risking his identity.  Though Loki saw him babbling at the men on the film.   Annoying his captors into releasing him was definitely a tactic the kid would try.  He would try anything to stall them long enough for Loki or Tony to come save him.

Loki had failed him in letting him get taken.

He wouldn’t continue to fail him.  

He teleported back to the battle the team was in. “Get down!” He roared in a battlefield bellow that had all of the team immediately on the ground.  Even the Hulk listened to that roar and respected the puny god for the moment.   Loki’s magic exploded, taking down every single enemy in a single attack.  

The team didn’t have time to be surprised before Loki was turning to Stark.  “They took Peter,” he snarled.  “This,” he gestured to the battlefield around him.  “Was a distraction.  We need to get him back, now, before they hurt him or spill his secrets,”

“Can you find him?” Thor asked while Stark was busy processing and viewing security footage to try to find anything by mortal means.  

Loki closed his eyes and concentrated, trying to find any means he could to track the spider.  “Not yet,” he growled.  Peter wasn’t holding anything of Loki’s or anything Loki had given him.  Loki glanced at Thor.  “You will never tell Mother about anything that happens until we get him back.  Especially any… less than legal… spells I might employ,” 

Thor nodded gravely. “You have my word, but Heimdall…” the spy was always a problem.

Loki growled.  “Heimdall will understand,” he replied.  “We’ll start at the tower,” he told them and vanished.  He would work with the others for as long as they weren’t hindering him.  He dreaded what the kidnappers would do to Peter in the meantime.  At best, they would just tie him up and demand a ransom.  At worst… One of the vases in the common room exploded at Loki even considering the worst they could do to Peter.  

Even if Peter was willing to compromise his identity, he could only fight so many adversaries at once.  

Loki went up to Peter’s room and found the boy’s hairbrush.  It was a less than ethical use of magic, but Loki's give-a-shit-ometer was completely broken by that point.  Especially since he knew that they’d been tricked out of Stark Industries.  

Which would mean they would be prepared to deal with a pissed off god, a shellhead, and the entire team of Avengers.  

The team met Loki back in the common room and found him pulling a hair out of Peter’s hairbrush.  He held the hair in front of him in a green sphere of magic.  While Loki used magic all the time, he was usually more subtle about it.  The team hadn’t seen much of his displays like this, and appreciated just how much magic he had and just how powerful he was. And just how much he downplayed that power most of the time.

“Any luck?” Thor ventured to ask about ten minutes later when Loki was still locked in his tracking spell.

“They’re moving him,” Loki growled as he continued to work.  “I can’t do anything until they stop,”

“Can you see any landmarks?” Stark asked, not knowing how magic worked.  “We can trace a path?” He suggested.  He and Jarvis could find any landmark if Loki could just tell him what he saw.

Relief filled Loki’s eyes at the start of a plan and he nodded.  He listed off street names, buildings, restaurants, anything he could see in the brief glimpses he caught through the tracking spell.  Tony and Jarvis worked as fast as they could to keep up with the onslaught of information.

Hours passed and Loki kept his magic going while they kept moving his blood brother.

The second they stopped, they would be very, very dead men.

Chapter Text

Everyone in the tower thought that Loki and Stark working together was the scariest thing they had ever seen.  Those two hated each other on most days.  With Peter there as a buffer, they could stand each other’s company in the lab, but they were never friendly.  There were too many resentful feelings from the battle of New York, their personalities were both too strong to easily get over those feelings. 

Usually, they had Peter as a buffer.

To find Peter, they didn’t. 

And yet, they were working together better than ever.  They both had a goal to work toward.  They both needed to find and save Peter and both knew that they had to rely on each other to get that done as quickly as possible.

None of the team wanted to think about what Hydra would do to Peter.  They didn’t want Peter in their clutches any longer than he had to be.

Stark called Doctor Strange to help. He portalled into the tower.  Usually everyone hated his portals, especially Loki who had fallen through one for thirty minutes one time, but they forgave it now.  It would be faster to get to Peter with a portal than by any other means.

They just had to find Peter first.

Loki continued casting his tracking spell and giving landmarks to Stark as he saw them in the magic.  Hydra wasn’t taking chances yet with Peter, wasn’t stopping long enough for the god to find him, or for Shield to stop them.  

Not yet anyway.

They would make a mistake.  It was just a matter of time.  Loki just hope that it wasn’t too late by the time they got to Peter.

The team watched anxiously, ready to jump in when Peter and Stark inevitably blew up at each.  They were there to leash to volatile tempers, though the pair working together was the scariest thing they had seen.

At least, it was the scariest thing.  

“Sir, there’s-“ Jarvis started, trying to give Stark some kind of warning.

“Not now, J, keep tracking,” Tony replied quickly as Loki gave more landmarks for Jarvis to decipher.  

“But, Sir,” Jarvis protested. 

But it was too late.

Before Tony could snap at the AI, a terrifying storm burst into the common room.  The entire team stared as Aunt May stormed in.  She glared between Loki and Tony, not sure which one to start with, so she yelled at them both.  “Where is he?” She demanded.  “I had to hear from the news.  The news that Peter has been kidnapped.  He was supposed to be safe at your internship.  You swore that your involvement in the Avengers wouldn’t come back to hurt my son!” Aunt May yelled at Stark.  Apparently, he was to be blamed first. She had also called Peter her son.  He was her nephew, but she had raised him since he was a small child.  Of course she saw him more as a son than a nephew.  She whirled on Loki and turned her anger on him.  “And you promised to protect him.  You said-“

Loki held up a hand to stop her.  His temper was already short from the spells he was working to find Peter.  “Lady,” his tone was icy and a warning on his temper.  He fell back into Asgardian formality and habits when he was stressed, which he clearly was now.  Thor stood and took a step closer to the pair in case he had to intervene.  He wouldn’t let Loki do something stupid.  “I am doing everything in my power to find and save Peter.  I will make sure those responsible pay for what they have done.  But the more you interrupt me, the longer it will take me to find him,” his voice was deceptively calm and he didn’t look up from the glowing green sphere of the tracking spell as he spoke to her.  

She wanted to protest, the entire team saw it in her eyes.  She wanted to yell and rage and do something to get Peter back.  She couldn’t stand the thought of sitting around waiting and fretting for Loki and Stark to find something.  “Why him?” She demanded while Thor wrapped an arm around her to keep her from interrupting Loki and Stark in their work. “It’s because of you two,” she decided. “They came after him because of you, to get at you,”

“We don’t know why he was taken, but we will get him back,” Stark told her, trying to sound calm.  He was panicking, though.  They needed to find Peter soon, before he got himself exposed or killed.  Before they thought he wasn’t needed to get the ransom, or whatever they wanted from Stark.  

Loki would kill them all if they killed Peter.  But that would make Peter any more dead.

Before May could speak again, Loki looked up from his spell. “Got him.  Let’s go,” he told them, his temper at the killing edge.  

“Where?” Strange asked as he got to his feet.  Thor stood and summoned Mjolnir and his armor.  Stark’s armor flew into place at the same time as Loki’s shimmered into place.  

Jarvis gave the coordinates and Strange opened the portal to what looked like a warehouse.  The four of them headed through, leaving May in the care of the rest of the team.  Loki’s tracking spell was still active, and would lead him directly to Peter, now that they were closer.  He led the way into the Hydra base, blasting agents out of his way as he made his way to Peter’s location. Loki’s power flared, flexed and filled the entire building with his dark power.  Loki was a god and the realm needed reminded of that, reminded of what happened when his temper slipped the leash, when something threw him over the edge.  

Thor was in the same state, his lightning crackling around him, just as Loki’s magic was crackling dangerously.  The gods were beyond enraged and the team got a good look at them in their full power before the portal closed behind them.  

Stark disabled all communications in the building thanks to Jarvis and the four of them made their way into the base. They weren’t going for subtle.  They were going for speed.  They had to get to Peter quickly now that they were here. There was no telling what the agents would do to him.  They wouldn’t risk Peter’s death.

Loki’s give-a-shit-ometer was beyond shattered and he didn’t care what happened to any of the agents who got in his way.  He splattered them all over the walls.  And none of the other three would ever speak of it again. They didn’t approve of so violent of deaths, but they knew that Loki would do anything to get Peter back.

Absolutely anything.

Including splatter those who had taken him all over the walls and floor.  The deaths were quicker than Loki would have liked, but they weren’t easy.  His magic made sure of that as they were torn apart, the quick deaths feeling like they took years for their bodies to tear apart.  It was a cruel, terrible spell.  And one he would never, ever tell his mother that he knew.

The four Avengers wreaked a path of destruction through the base as they worked their way closer and closer to Peter.

Hydra never stood a chance and they never, ever, should have pissed Loki off.  

Loki's tracking spell finally flickered out when they reached a locked door in the middle of the Hydra base.  That only meant one thing.  

They had found Peter. 

Chapter Text

Loki gave his companions a moment to gather themselves, a moment to adjust their weapons and magic.  A moment was all they got.  They were so close and Loki wasn’t going to give Hydra a second longer with Peter than they already had.  

Thor stepped up beside Loki, an unspoken signal that he was ready.  The brothers had fought side by side for centuries.  They knew each other’s strengths and weaknesses, and, when they weren’t trying to kill each other, an unstoppable team.  Usually, it was Thor leading the way into battle, this time, this time it was Loki who was leading the charge, leading the attack.

And Thor didn’t begrudge the lead to Loki at all. 

Loki burst into the room, his rage knocking the doors off their hinges as he stormed in, magic crackling around him.  Trust my rage.  He wasn’t in the mood to play games. He wasn’t in the mood for mercy, or kindness, or any of the things he had learned from his beloved mama or Peter. He was going to kill every single person who had laid a hand on his little brother.  No matter the cost.

The sight they were met with stilled Loki’s heart as terror filled him.  Not terror for himself, but for Peter. There were agents around the walls of the circular room, all pointing their weapons at the door, but they weren’t what had stopped Loki’s heart.  

No, that horror belonged to Peter.  

Peter was in the middle of the room, being held by one of the Hydra agents, a huge man who was holding a knife to Peter’s throat.  The boy looked dazed, drugged, or worse. They’d had him less than a day and he was already haunted and weak. 

What the Hel had they done to him?

Loki would find out as soon as he put all of the Hydra agents in the ground. “Don’t move or Spiderman gets it,” the agent holding Peter snarled, shifting the knife against Peter’s throat.  Peter whimpered softly, very clearly out of it, as a thin line of blood dripped from the wound on his neck.  

Loki growled while Stark, Thor, and Strange stiffened, unwilling to risk the teen’s life. Strange’s magic vanished and Stark’s weapons deactivated.  They didn’t know what to do.  

Loki did.

And Loki was out of fucks to give about any of the men in that room besides Peter.  And his companions if he was being generous.  Without even blinking his eyes, he killed all the agents around the edge of the room.  They dropped to the ground in unison.  Their deaths were quicker than Loki would like and much less brutal as he’d simply broken their necks, but it was worth it to get to Peter faster.  His companions gasped, though the agent holding Peter didn’t move, even as all of his companions died.

With the others dead, there was only the one with the knife to Peter’s throat to deal with.  That would be more difficult.  Loki couldn’t vanish Peter while the agent was holding him.  Nor could he vanish the blade for the same reason.  It was a limitation of magic.  Loki had to get Peter away from the agent before he could do anything. 

“Let him go,” he snarled, his magic crackling around him.  The others were too afraid to move to do anything useful. 

“Pete?” Tony asked, wondering why the kid wasn’t moving or fighting.  His identity was clearly compromised and he didn’t have to hide his powers from the bad guys.  So why wasn’t he fighting back?

The agent laughed.  “We stripped him of his powers and gave him something to keep him calm while we study him,” he grinned, pleased at outwitting and outmatching the Avengers.  He had them by the balls and he knew it. 

“What do you want?” Loki demanded, his temper at the killing edge as he tried to find some answer to how to get Peter away from the agent without Peter dying in the process.  He went through every spell he could think of, trying to come up with a way, but there wasn’t much he could do until the agent was convinced to let go of Peter.  

“The kid. He’ll make a good agent when he’s been trained up,” the agent said with a smirk.  

“That will never happen,” Stark growled with the others.  They weren’t going to let Peter stay in Hydra’s clutches.  None of them were.  They just had to get out of this standoff.  

As one, they all moved, raising their weapons and magic to blast the agent, careful not to hit Peter with their attacks.  The agent went to the ground with him, kneeling over the boy.  “You should have done as I said-“ he snarled before he stabbed Peter in the stomach, dragging his blade to cause the most damage.

“NO!” Loki roared and blasted the agent across the room with his magic.

He ran to Peter and knelt beside him, letting the others deal with the agent while he tried to stop the flow of Peter’s blood.  The wound was bleeding heavily.  With Peter’s powers stripped, his healing factor was doing nothing to help.  

“Loki?” The teen asked weakly as his eyes tried to focus on the god.  

Peter’s blood continued to flow through Loki’s fingers.  Loki poured his magic into healing the boy, but it was no use.  Loki didn’t have his mother’s healing skills.  He could only hear minor wounds.  Peter’s wound was far, far worse than the minor healing Loki could do.  

“I’m here,” Loki breathed, terrified for Peter.  “You’ll be alright,” he promised, though he didn’t know how.  The words were empty, a comforting lie at best. 

The light in Peter’s eyes started to dim.  “I knew you’d come,” he said to Loki.

Loki’s heart shattered at that.  Peter had believed in him, depended on him, and he had failed him.  He’d promised and now Peter’s life was slipping away.

And there was nothing Loki could do to change it.  The wound was too deep, his blood spilling too fast, pouring faster and faster with each pulse of Peter’s heart.  Tears filled Loki’s eyes.  “I’m sorry,” he whispered to Peter as he stroked the teen’s hair away from his face.

“I’m so, so sorry.  This is all my fault,” he said and leaned down to kiss Peter’s forehead, using his magic to ease the teen’s pain.  It was the least he could do, and all he could do.

Chapter Text

Tony ran over and knelt on Peter’s other side, taking the teen’s hand in his armored one.  His face-mask lifted and there was fear in his eyes.  “Pete? Hang in there kid,” he said before he glared up at Loki. “Why aren’t you helping him? Do something!” He begged.  

Loki hesitated.  “The wounds are beyond my healing, beyond what any Midgardian doctor can do.  Even Strange at his prime would not be able to heal this damage,” Loki protested, his hands covered in Peter’s blood as he tried to stop the bleeding with pressure and magic.  It was no use, but he was trying anyway.

“What about Asgard?  Mother? Sigyn?” Thor asked as he came over to offer what little help he could.  

Loki shook his head.  “He would never survive the journey in his condition and there’s no time to get a message to Mother or Sigyn,” he replied, running out of options.  Though he couldn’t, wouldn’t just let Peter die.  

There was only one choice left.  One option.  It was too soon and a Hail Mary pass, but it was the only way.  He saw the light fading from Peter’s eyes.

“Can’t you do anything?  All your magic.  There has to be something you can do,” Stark protested.  There had to be something the god could do. He had all this power and had been flaunting it since Peter had been taken.  There had to be something he could do to save Peter.

Loki hesitated while everyone stared at him.  Whatever it takes a voice said softly in Loki’s mind.  He didn’t know where it had come from, but knew it was right.  He would do anything and everything in his power to save Peter.  And there was still one thing, one option left to him.

The only option. 

He glanced at Thor, his expression a warning for his idiot brother to not say a word.  “There’s one thing-“ Loki started.

“Then do it!” Stark snapped.  “We’re running out of time!” There was panic in his voice.  He couldn’t lose the kid.  He couldn’t bear that responsibility, not when it was more than his fault that Peter was in this situation.  If his security had been better, if he had let Peter come with them, there were a dozen ways that Tony could have stopped this.  And as always, he blamed himself.  

Loki couldn’t hesitate anymore.  He summoned the item he’d been saving to offer Peter the day he turned 18, the day he came of legal age to make the decision for himself.  Now, it was the only way to save Peter’s life.  

“Loki, no.  It’s forbidden!” Thor protested. Loki glared at him and silenced him with a gesture and magic.  Thor protests were muffled by his inability to speak or open his mouth.  

“Right now I could not give a single solitary fuck about forbidden,” Loki replied calmly.  He wasn’t letting his emotions into his voice.  His parents would kill him for this later.  He would accept the death with honor if it meant Peter would survive now.  

“What is that?” Tony demanded. 

Loki ignored him and drew a dagger to cut up the apple he had summoned.  He held a piece to Peter’s lips.  “Eat this, arachnid.  It will heal you,” he promised gently.

Peter made a soft, weak, noise, but ate the apple piece by piece as Loki fed it to him.  Instantly, his wound started to close.  When the apple was gone, Loki undid his magic from Thor and lifted Peter into his arms. He was so light and small, Loki was surprised how child-like he still was.  “We need to get him to Mother to finish the healing,” he told Thor as Stark scrambled back to his feet.

“He’ll be alright?” Stark demanded.

Loki inclined his head.  “He will heal,” he replied.

“Loki, you shouldn’t have.  You know it’s forbidden, especially before he came of age!” Thor reminded him, sounding panicked and worried now.  

Loki nodded “And I will take whatever punishment comes to me for it.  I could not let him die,”

“He’s mortal-“ Thor protested

“He’s my brother,” Loki snarled and Thor flinched at the reminder. Loki would do anything in his power to save Peter, just as Thor would do anything in his power for Loki. “Just as you would not let me die. Nor would I have let him,” he reminded his brother.  

Thor sighed.  “Very well.  I will help you with father.  I assume Mother gave you the apple.” Loki inclined his head.  She had indeed given him the apple to give to Peter.  He just wasn’t supposed to need it yet, though now he was suspicious since she’d given it to him two years earlier than he was supposed to need it.  Frigga’s visions were never wrong, though she rarely told anyone about them. 

Tony finally got his wits about him. “What did you do?” He demanded of Loki.  He’d agreed to anything to save Peter’s life, but now he needed to know what exactly it was that he’d agreed to.  He wasn’t taking back that he would do anything.  He just needed to know the consequences, needed to know what fight he was going to be in for this decision.

Loki hesitated before he spoke, before he admitted what he’d done.  He knew that he might lose Peter’s brotherhood and friendship over this. That he might lose more than that.  But it was worth the risk.

“I gave him one of Idun’s Apples,”

Chapter Text

Tony’s expression was blank and Loki cursed that the moronic supposed genius hadn’t bothered to learn Norse mythology once he had two Norse gods living with him.  Granted, most of the myths were wrong, especially the bits about Loki’s ‘children’, but it still would’ve given the man something to go on.  Loki glanced at the teen in his arms, then back to Stark.  “I will explain on the way. We still need to get him to Mother,” he said.

“On the way where?” Stark asked.

“Loki, no. You know it’s forbidden,” Thor repeated again when he figured out what Loki was saying.  

Loki glared at Thor, then turned to Strange.  “Return to the tower and inform Aunt May that Peter is safe and we are taking him to Asgard for healing.  Reassure her that she is not to worry,” he told the doctor, though he knew that Aunt May would worry anyway.  Still, even Loki was only willing to break so many rules in such a short period of time.  He didn’t really want to die after all.  And Odin would kill him if he broke too many rules.  Especially since he was on Midgard for retribution for the battle of New York.  Odin wouldn’t hesitate to kill him or lock him away again if he felt it necessary to control his chaotic adopted son.

Despite that Loki only wanted love and caring.  Despite that Loki had been mind controlled.  Despite Odin’s shitty parenting. 

“Loki-“ Thor pleaded again, not wanting Loki in trouble. 

Loki glared at him.  “I do not care about Odin’s rules right now.  Peter needs healing.  I and taking him to Mother.  Stark is effectively his guardian and needs to understand what just happened.  So you can either help me or get out of my way,” he growled and turned to storm out of the building, Peter cradled carefully in his arms.  The wound was healing, though slowly.  Frigga would be able to heal him properly. 

Stark followed Loki in disbelief.  “You’re taking me to Asgard, why?” He demanded, knowing Loki hated him.  

“Multiple reasons,” Loki explained as he walked.  Tony kept stride with him while Thor trailed behind like a kicked puppy.  Tony kept his gaze on Peter, terrified that the boy’s condition would worsen.  He knew Loki had saved Peter’s life, though he didn’t understand how.  He knew it wasn’t good from Thor’s reaction. So he would put his dislike of Loki aside for Peter’s sake.  He would do practically anything for Peter’s sake. “You wish to know how I saved Peter.  You are also his guardian, despite it being unofficial.  While Aunt May is his legal guardian, she cannot come to Asgard, not for this. She would be a liability,” much as Loki cared about her, it was the truth.  Aunt May would be too overwhelmed by the realm to do what was necessary.  She was better off on Midgard, despite how much she’d hate it.  Loki turned and looked at Stark, gave the man his full attention to make sure he knew how important his next words were. “And I trust that if things turn sour, you will get Peter off the realm and to safety,” 

Loki didn’t trust Stark with his own life, didn’t trust or like the man, but he did trust that Stark loved Peter and would do anything for his adopted son. 

Stark gave him a look.  “You’re expecting trouble?” He didn’t want Peter in more danger.

“How I saved him was not exactly the most legal…” Loki admitted.  Which Stark already knew thanks to Thor’s reactions.  “I expect the Allfather will not be pleased with me.  I need someone there whose loyalty is to Peter.  Who will get Peter home safely no matter the cost.”  What Loki wasn’t saying was that if he got locked up again or worse, that he expected Tony to flee with Peter and make sure the teen got home safely.  Tony had no loyalty to Asgard like Thor did.  Tony could take care of himself, unlike Aunt May.  

Tony nodded, understanding Loki’s unspoken request.  “I’ll make sure he’s safe,” he reassured the god.  It was the one thing they could both agree on: Peter’s safety and wellbeing. 

“Idun’s Apple is the golden apple of immortality,” Loki explained to Tony.  “Among its powers is the ability to turn a Midgardian into an Asgardian.  It will heal Peter and also turn him into an Asgardian.  He’ll have the same long life that Thor and I do, all the same strengths,” he explained to the shell shocked shellhead.  

Before Tony processed that news and all the implications of it, they made it out of the building and Loki looked to Thor.  “Brother, you know Midgadians are not welcome on Asgard,” he tried again to make Loki see reason.

“Peter has an open invitation from Mother.  Stark is coming as his guardian.  Either help me, or get out of my way,” he snarled at his brother, defensive over Peter in his arms.  Peter was limp and whimpered softly, but otherwise didn’t move or stir.  

Thor sighed, clearly thinking this wasn’t the best course of action, but he wouldn’t stand against Loki when his brother needed him.  So he raised Mjolnir and called to Heimdall to open the bifrost.  Loki held Peter more securely in his arms as they travelled up the rainbow bridge.  

They stepped into the bifrost circle and Loki looked to Thor.  “You and Shellhead catch up.  I will get Peter to Mother,” he told his brother.  Stark growled at the nickname, but it was a familiar growl, familiar banter, and that familiarity was a sign that Peter would be alright.  Loki wouldn’t even joke that much if he thought Peter’s life in danger.  

Before either of them could reply, Loki teleported directly to the healing wing.  “Mother!” He called when he arrived.  He couldn’t order her around, but him bellowing in the healing wing was generally enough to get her attention.  

She came running predictably.  She stopped short when she saw Loki with Peter in his arms and saw how much blood there was all over both of them.  Horror filled her eyes for a moment before she steeled herself into her role as the court healer, the best and strongest healer in the realm.  “This way,” she said calmly and led Loki to one of the private rooms.  Loki laid Peter down gently in the bed.  “What happened?” She asked as she looked Loki, then Peter, over.  She realized that Loki was only covered in Peter’s blood, not injured himself, and turned all her attention to Peter as she sat by his bed and began to heal him. 

Loki told the story of Peter’s abduction and rescuing him.  Though he did leave out the illegal parts of the story.  Except the one part he had to admit.  

He hoped against hope that his beloved mama wouldn’t turn against him. 

But he owed her the truth.

“I gave him Idun’s Apple to save his life.  Without his permission or consent,” he admitted, picking at his hands.  His eyes were on the floor as he waited for her answer, waited for her scorn and condemnation for his actions.  

Waited for her to finally give up on him, just like the rest of the realm had done centuries ago. 

Chapter Text

The moment stretched and stretched as Frigga absorbed Loki’s words.  He picked at his hands and hung his head. He couldn’t look at her while she processed what he said.  He couldn’t face the revulsion or anger, not coming from her, not coming from his precious mama.  He had thought, that even adopted, that she would love him no matter what stupid thing he did. She had always loved and seen the best and the worst in him. She’d treated him as her own son from the moment he was brought home to her. 

And now he had done something so unconscionable that he didn’t think even his beloved mama would be able to forgive him for it. 

He’d turned Peter Asgardian, without permission, without Peter’s consent, and before the boy was of age to make the choice.  He’d taken that choice from Peter.  He’d done it to save Peter’s life, sure, but he had still broken so many laws and used what was questionable morality at best.

His mother had taught him better.

But he couldn’t let Peter die.

He needed Peter to keep him grounded, to keep him caring about the little everyday things.  Peter was a hometown hero, he helped little old ladies, and stopped petty crime.  He was a teenager, whose cares were about school and girls.  It wasn’t big epic battles and universe ending destruction.  He didn’t have to be a perfect god, a perfect son, a perfect anything in front of the child.  He could be himself.

Peter always accepted Loki for who he or she was at any given time.

And Loki needed that grounding in the real world.  He needed that grounding after finding out he was Jotun, after falling from the bifrost, after the torture and abuse from Thanos and his cronies, after the mind control and pain, after everything he had been through, he needed that normalcy that the child provided.

He couldn’t lose his little brother now.  He needed him too much.

Frigga watched her son carefully, saw him pick at his hands,  a tell he had picked up from her when he was upset, saw his downcast expression like he was expecting pain, either physically or emotionally.  She saw his conflict and saw his pain.

She stood from where she’d been sitting next to Peter’s bed and went to him, enfolding him in her arms as she’d done numerous times in his life. He was taller now than the child she had comforted, but he would always be her baby.  Loki’s arms wrapped automatically around her and he held onto her tightly.  She stroked his hair soothingly, waiting for him to relax a little.  “I know, darling,” she said gently.

Loki pulled back enough to look down at her.  “You know?” He asked, confused and unsure.

Frigga gave him a warm, reassuring smile.  “Yes, darling.  I have known since I gave you that apple.  I had a vision and saw that you would need it to save young Peter’s life,” Frigga had had a vision. That explained a lot.  Loki had wondered why she’d given him the apple for Peter before he was allowed to offer it.  It was still two years too early.  The apples never went bad, so that wasn’t an issue, but it had been strange at the time.  Still, Loki was used to oddities from his mother and knew not to question them.  She wouldn’t give out information about the future unless it absolutely necessary.  And she wouldn’t answer questions about the future.  One had to accept what information she gave and know that it was enough to combat whatever future she had seen that she felt she had to interfere in. 

“I couldn’t get his consent,” Loki fretted, pulling his mama back into his arms and burying her head in her neck, a child, a son, seeking comfort while admitting his crimes.  

Frigga stroked his hair.  “And he will have to forgive you for that, but he is alive to do so,” she reminded him.  “And knowing Peter, he will be quick to accept what happened and he will not blame you for not having the ability to gain his consent,” 

Loki looked into her eyes.  “Are you sure?” He whimpered with tears in his eyes, so desperately afraid of losing his best friend, his little brother.  So afraid Peter would hate him for thousands of years to come.

“As sure as anyone can be,” Frigga replied.  She wouldn’t lie to Loki and didn’t know what Peter would do, but she had a feeling from what she knew of the young man. 

Loki nodded and held her for another minute before he pulled away to sit on the edge of Peter’s bed and help his mama with the rest of the healing.  By the time Tony and Thor arrived all that was left of the healing was for Peter to wake.

Loki sat by his side while Frigga told Tony and Thor what she’d had to do healing-wise and the effects of the apple for Tony’s benefit.  Loki held one of Peter’s hands in both of his, waiting anxiously for him to wake.

It felt like hours of Loki trying to figure out what to say.

It felt like no time at all passed.

Peter’s eyes slowly fluttered as he woke with a groan.  He looked over at Loki and Loki waited anxiously.  He expected hate in Peter’s eyes, expected betrayal and anger.  Instead, there was relief in the teen’s expression.  “Elphaba?” He asked in a croak, with a hint of his smirk. 

Chapter Text

Loki relaxed a little at the smirk, at the nickname, of the hint of normalcy and relief in Peter’s eyes. Maybe things weren’t as dire as Loki had imagined.  Peter was at least glad to see him when he woke.  Loki gave him a gentle smile, trying to reassure the teen.  “I’m here, Arachnid,” he replied, his voice low and gentle, like the one he used to talk to injured animals.  “I’m here, and you’re safe now.” The first thing he had to do was reassure the teen that he was alright.  That was the first step.  Loki had worked in the healing wing often enough to know how things worked.  He trained at his mother’s side and she was the strongest, best, healer in the nine realms.  He wasn’t even exaggerating on that just because she was his beloved mama.

Peter’s eyes glazed a bit as he was clearly trying to remember what was going on and more importantly, why he was in the healing wing on Asgard.  “Loki?  What’s going on?  What happened?” Peter asked, fear starting to fill his eyes.  He’d dropped the silly nickname, getting serious in his concern.

Loki gripped his hand tighter, reassuring the teen with his presence, with his cold hand in Peter’s warm one.  “What do you remember?” He asked gently “Then I will explain the rest,” he added reassuringly.

Peter spoke slowly as he tried to remember and got all the way to when he was stabbed in the stomach. “I-I don’t remember after that,” he admitted, his brows knit with effort to remember.  “No, you were there, and we talked and-“ his words trailed off again.

Loki squeezed his hand to get Peter’s attention back on him.  “And I saved you and brought you to Asgard so Mother could finish healing you,” Loki finished the story.

“You healed me.  With fruit,” Peter said slowly.

Loki nodded with a chuckle.  “I’m getting there, Arachnid. Patience,” he scolded, though knew that Peter had every right to be impatient.  It also wasn’t like Loki could actually scold anyone about patience when he himself had none.  Loki hesitated, but knew he would have to tell Peter the truth.  He owed Peter the truth.  He’d changed Peter’s entire life, and not just by saving it.  He took a deep breath before he continued.  “Had there been any other way to save your life, I would have taken that option,” he started.  “But you were dying without your powers and we nearly lost you as it was.  The only way I had to save you was by giving you one of Idun’s Apples,” he held a hand up before Peter could ask with that was.  “Idun’s Apples are also known as the golden apples of immortality.  They have a lot of properties, but there are some you need to know about,” he sighed and had to pause to gather his words.  His silver tongue wasn’t doing as well as he’d like. 

Peter sat up properly and gripped Loki’s hand more firmly.  He was doing better to sit up on his own. His color had returned and he was looking more like himself with each passing moment.  “Just tell me, Loki.  I know you’d never do anything to hurt me and you saved my life,”

Loki gave him a wan smile.  The kid had such faith in him.  “The apple had the power to heal you, despite the extent of your injuries.  It also turned you Asgardian, when you were healed, it physically changed you from human to Asgardian,” he clarified and knew Peter would want the science behind it later, after he’d had time to process.

Right now, though, confusion filled the teen’s eyes.  “What does that mean?” He finally asked when he could gather his thoughts enough.

“It means you will be 16 for a very long time,” Loki replied with a chuckle and a bit of a smirk, trying to lighten the mood. 

Peter gave him a pointed look.  “How long are we talking?”

“Centuries,” Loki admitted sheepishly.  “You will age like we do,” he included himself as Asgardian, though he wasn’t.  He still aged like the Asgardians did and had been raised Asgardian, so it wasn’t technically a lie.  Technically.

“I- Aunt May- Wanda?” He asked, as the repercussions started to sink in. 

Loki shook his head, sorrow in his eyes.  “They will both live mortal lives.  I’m sorry, Arachnid,” he said gently.  “The apple was always going to be offered to you, but by law, it wasn’t to be offered until you came of age and could make the decision for yourself if this is the life you want.  I’m so, so sorry that I took that decision from you,”

Sorrow and pain filled Peter’s eyes for a moment as he tried to come to terms with what that meant.  “I can go back to Midgard?” He asked.

Loki nodded “Yes, Arachnid.  You can live there as long as you wish.  You still have all of your spider abilities, those carry over in the transition.  You’re still you.  The only thing that has changed it that you’re now even harder to kill, stronger, heal even faster, and will live for basically ever,”

Peter nodded and swallowed.  “And after-?” He couldn’t form the words, but Loki understood.  He wanted to know what would happen to him after his loved ones had died, when all he had of his old life were Loki, Thor, and Mama Frigga.

“Then you can come to Asgard.  Asgard is your home now, and you are one of its citizens.  You will always be welcome here whenever you wish, you merely need to ask Heimdall for a ride,” Loki reassured him.  “Mother has already settled everything.  Your suite in the palace will always be ready for you, and Father has been informed.” Loki rarely, if ever, called Odin ‘father’ anymore, not after finding out about his entire life being a lie, but he was relying on that family connection to keep his ass out of the dungeons at the moment, so he was willing to play nice. 

Peter sighed in relief.  “Then I’ll enjoy every minute I get with them,” he finally said, with far more maturity than his years.  He looked up at Loki and saw the fear in his blood-brother’s eyes.  He hugged Loki tight around the middle.  “Thank you, for saving me, brother.”

It had been the first time Peter had ever called Loki his brother. 

Loki didn’t deserve it, not after what he’d done.

But he would spend the rest of eternity earning it. 

Chapter Text

Frigga insisted that Peter had to stay in the healing wing for the rest of the day to recover properly.  Despite the teen’s protests that he felt fine now, all of the grownups sided with Frigga.  Loki would never go against what his mother said, especially not when it came to healing.  Peter’s protests were further smothered when he fell asleep halfway through a sentence.  Loki chuckled and stood, sure that Peter would be alright.  His mother’s healing spells had taken, Peter was Asgardian now.  He would be alright.

That kid could bounce back from anything, including this. 

By then, Tony and Thor had caught up, so Loki had to deal with them, despite how much he didn’t want to deal with either of them.  He wanted to sit by Peter’s side until his little brother was better, but that wasn’t an option at the moment.  He would likely also still have to face Odin’s wrath, but Frigga had said she’d taken care of Odin.

Hopefully, that would mean Loki was spared for breaking so many rules.

He highly doubted it and wondered what his punishment would be this time.  He was already serving penance on Midgard.

He pushed those thoughts aside and went to where Thor and Tony were waiting outside of the private room.  “He will be just fine,” he reassured the pair.  They both sighed in relief.  “He needs to stay here for the rest of the day.  He is still recovering.  He just fell asleep, mother’s healing spells are strong,”

“Can I see him?” Tony was only being polite because Loki had just saved Peter’s life, very illegally, and because Frigga was there.  Even though he wasn’t Asgardian, he knew better than to be anything less than perfectly polite to the queen of Asgard.  She’d made an impression on them all when she’d come to visit Loki on Midgard.

Frigga inclined her head.  “Yes, though I doubt he will be entertaining company as healing spells are quite exhausting,” she told Stark.  She knew that he was there as Peter’s guardian and wanted to make sure Peter really was ok. 

Tony went into Peter’s room to check on him and the group let him have his privacy.  Peter was Stark’s charge, enough that the team teased him about being ‘Irondad’. There was no question that he wanted to check on Peter and make sure he really was ok and healing.  He wouldn’t believe it until he saw it with his own eyes.  He was too much of a scientist for belief otherwise. 

Thor looked to Loki. “Father isn’t pleased,” he warned his brother.

Loki sighed and looked down “I figured, but you know I had to, and mother did give me the apple for Peter,”

Frigga nodded her agreement.  “Your Father already approved that,” she agreed

Loki sighed in relief, though knew at the back of his mind that Odin would come up with some way to punish him for bringing Tony here, giving Peter the apple early, any number of illegal things Loki had done to find and save his blood brother. 

Loki would take whatever punishment it was, as long as it meant that Peter was safe. 

Eventually, Tony was satisfied that Peter was alright.  Since he wasn’t leaving the healing wing, or Frigga’s care, until at least dinner that night, Thor decided that they should take Tony on a tour of the palace and grounds.  “Come on, brother, it will be fun to show off our home!” Thor pleaded with Loki.

Loki pinched the bridge of his nose. “Very well,” he replied, knowing that Thor wouldn’t give up until he agreed to come along.  Thor was trying to distract him to keep him from worrying about Peter. 

Loki smirked and gestured at Tony before the man could think to protest.  His magic wrapped around Tony and dressed him in Asgardian court clothes.  He actually dressed Tony well, in reds that looked good on him and gold armor pieces. 

Thor beamed “You look good as an Asgardian,” he informed the spluttering Tony before he could rage at Loki.

Loki’s attention turned from Stark to the doorway as Sigyn came in.  She bounced over to Loki and kissed him in front of Stark who stood staring open-mouthed at the display.  “Hello, my love,” Loki greeted her warmly, wrapping his arms around her.  He burst out laughing at Tony’s expression.  “Did you truly not believe me about my fiancé?” Loki asked, holding Sigyn close.

“How-? But-?”

Loki just laughed louder and kissed Sig’s temple.  She looked up at Loki.  “Sorry it took me so long to get here.  I was doing a healing in one of the villages,” she explained.

“Are you going to stay with Peter while I have to entertain my idiot brother and his friend?” Loki asked her, relieved she was there.

She nodded and stole another kiss.  “Go attend your duties, Lokes.  I’ll watch over the arachnid,” she said fondly.  She’d taken a liking to Peter while Loki had been here last time. 

“I am in your debt, my darling,” Loki purred and kissed her again before he would agree to tour Asgard with Tony and Thor.  They showed Tony around the palace, though keep him away from the throne room, not wanting to bring more trouble upon themselves than they might already be facing.  Tony was technically allowed here as Peter’s guardian, but only technically, especially since Odin hadn’t approved it first. 

They introduced Tony to Thor’s friends, while Loki made sure Tony was kept away from the Asgardian alcohol so he didn’t die of alcohol poisoning. Thor’s idiot friends were all impressed with Midgard’s hero and he fit right in with them. 

Eventually, they headed back to the healing wing to see if Peter was up to coming to dinner with them.  He was awake and chatting happily with Sigyn, catching her up on things that had happened since he and Loki had gone back to Midgard.  Loki smiled warmly at the sight of his brother and fiancé getting along so well. 

“Are you up to dinner in the great hall, Arachnid?” Loki asked Peter warmly, wanting to get the kid back to a sense of normalcy.  That was what he really needed right now, not fretting about his future. 

Peter nodded eagerly.  “I’m starving!” He agreed and practically jumped out of bed. 

Loki laughed and gestured at the teen, magically dressing him for Asgard.  “Let’s go then,” he replied.  He offered his arm to Sigyn and she placed her hand on his arm automatically so he could escort her to dinner.  The three of them chatted amiably the entire way there.  Loki felt like he was home with the people who loved and accepted him for who he was. He was in no rush to get to dinner, enjoying the moment with his blood brother and his love. 

He tried to shake the feeling that Odin was going to do something to have Loki’s world come crashing down around him.

Chapter Text

The group arrived at the double doors of the great hall and entered in a procession when the guards opened the doors for them. Loki and Sigyn strode to the head table first, walking together like the royal couple they were. All eyes were on them as they glided to the front of the room with a grace that Peter and Tony could only dream of. Thor didn’t care enough to try. He walked like the warrior he was, not with the fluidity of royalty, but with the easy-going stride of a trained warrior and a friend to the people. Thor didn’t meet anyone that he couldn’t befriend, no matter the realm. Loki was the complete opposite, one had to earn Loki’s friendship, but once they had that friendship and loyalty, they had it for life.  

Loki led Sig to her place at the head table and pulled out her chair for her, kissing her cheek as he seated her. He was ever the doting fiancé, and the court, while they thought him a dark prince most of the time, adored him and Sigyn together.  

Peter sat on Sigyn’s other side and Tony sat next to Thor. Peter looked like he was absolutely at home on Asgard, while Tony was awed by the richly decorated hall and the court staring at him. He was now the only mortal, the only Midgardian on the entire realm. Even Tony, used to the spotlight being on him, wasn’t used to that much spotlight. 

“Does everything have to be so… gold?” Tony asked Thor while he looked over all the decorations. Everything was decorated in rich gold and the court in brightly colored outfits.  

Thor laughed “It’s a symbol of our wealth and power,” he told his friend, amused at the question.  Tony was finally starting to realize what he was getting himself into being on Asgard.

Tony looked down the table to where Peter was talking with Sigyn. Peter looked so animated and so much better and above all, he looked like he belonged on Asgard. He fit in among the Asgardians in a way that Tony could never hope to. Tony didn’t understand how, and while he was a bit jealous, he was glad that Peter would be alright.

The entire court stood, and Thor dragged Tony to his feet alongside him. Thor was in charge of Tony and making sure the Midgardian didn’t make a fool out of himself. Peter was being babysat by Loki and Sigyn, but they didn’t need to worry about him, he remembered his manners from the last time he was on Asgard.

Before Tony could demand an explanation of what was going on, Odin entered the great hall with Frigga on his arm, gungnir was in his hand. He was looking his most formal and terrifying, despite Frigga, the gentle queen and goddess of family, in her golden gown next to him. Loki stiffened and his court mask settled into place before his adopted father could see his fear. Before Sigyn or Thor could sense it. Before Peter could worry.  

Loki knew how to read Odin by then, knew how to read his moods and temper. Odin was pissed already and things were only going to get worse. Loki could feel it, it was nearly palpable in the air. 

Odin and Frigga processed to the head table with the court bowing to them as they passed. Hugin and Munin flew before them and perched on stands behind Odin’s throne-like chair. Odin looked over his children and their guests. He nodded to his sons in greeting and his sons returned the gesture. 

Loki couldn’t help seeing the distaste in Odin’s eye when he looked at Stark. He paled at the look Odin gave Peter. He wanted to flee with Peter at that look and get his blood brother to safety. Odin wouldn’t hurt Peter in front of the court. Loki knew that much. He had a little time. 

Odin wouldn’t hurt Peter. He couldn’t. Peter was a citizen of Asgard now. He was under Odin’s protection.  

But then again, Loki was supposed to be as well. And Loki was a prince and still not safe. 

Odin seated Frigga before he took his place next to her. He didn’t comment about Peter, though his rage radiated off of him in waves. He looked at Loki before the meal truly started. “I will see you in the throne room after dinner,” he informed his adopted son coldly.  

Shit.

That was never a good sign.  

Loki inclined his head. It was the only thing he could do. “Yes, Father,” he replied obediently, hoping this punishment wouldn’t be too harsh, and knowing that it would be.  Odin would pull out something harsh to try to teach Loki some lesson, or knock him down a peg for no good reason. Loki glanced down the table to Peter. Loki wasn’t afraid as to what would happen to him but was afraid of what might happen to Peter. He glanced to Stark and saw the mortal was watching him. He caught Stark’s eyes and nodded. Stark nodded back and Loki practically sighed in relief.  Tony understood, just as he’d hoped he would. 

Tony would get Peter home. As soon as it was seemly. /After dinner, get Stark and Peter out of here. Don’t let anyone or anything stop you/ Loki told Sigyn telepathically. He trusted her to get those two back to Midgard, even if she had to bully Heimdall into opening the Bifrost.  

If anyone could bully Heimdall into doing anything he wasn’t supposed to, it was Sigyn. If she could keep Loki in line, she truly had the power to do anything.

Loki still couldn’t eat, knowing that punishment faced him. He moved his food around on his plate, but even looking at it made his stomach roll with anxiety and nausea.  Odin was prolonging it, just to torture Loki.  

He’d had the same techniques since the boys were children.  Loki and Thor both knew his tricks well.

Odin stood the second dinner was over and strode from the great hall to await Loki in the throne room. Loki stood and placed a hand on Peter’s shoulder. “You’re going home now. No arguing. Stark is going with you. I won’t see you hurt,” 

“Loki-“ Peter started to protest.

Loki gave him a stern look. “Nine,” he informed Peter. He wasn’t to a ten, not quite, but things were bad. “It will be a seven if I know you’re safe,”

Worry filled Peter’s eyes, but Sigyn reached over and squeezed his hand. “C’mon, Arachnid. We’ll get you and Stark home and Loki will join us in no time,” she reassured him gently. Peter nodded and hugged Loki tightly before he let Sig drag him and Tony to the Bifrost to head home. 

Loki sighed in relief when they were safe, though his relief was short-lived as knew he had to go to the throne room and find out what Odin had in store for him this time.  Thor stood then and came to his side.  “I will come with you,” he reassured Loki.  “This isn’t your fault and Father shouldn’t punish you for it.

Frigga stood as well.  “As will I, my darling.  The fault lies just as much with me, as it does with you,”

Loki looked between the two Asgardians who truly loved him and gave them both a wan smile.  “Thank you,” he said, grateful for their support and love.

They, unlike Odin, cared for him and he had finally grown enough to see it properly.

Chapter Text

“We best get this out of the way,” Loki eventually said, stepping back from Thor and Frigga.  He had to be strong to face Odin, especially when he knew he was going to be punished for his actions.  He had broken a lot of laws after all.  He knew he wasn’t getting out of this unscathed.  Even though Frigga had given him the golden apple to give to Peter, even though she had Seen this particular future.  It was still going to be Loki’s fault in Odin’s eyes.  

Loki would take the blame, would accept any consequence as the price for saving Peter’s life.  He would have made the same decisions a thousand times over.  He knew he had changed from who he had been when he had first met the teen.  And he knew that change was for the better. 

Despite what Odin might believe.

Odin would never see the best in Loki. 

Loki finally understood that and finally understood what family really was.  He had that family with Thor, Frigga, Sigyn, and most of all, with the teen who had forced his way into Loki’s shattered heart to repair it. 

So Loki would take whatever punishment came his way for saving Peter’s life. 

He offered Frigga his arm to escort her to the throne room.  He would always be the first to offer to escort his mother as he doted on her more than anyone else.  She placed her hand on his arm automatically and the three of them made their way to the throne room together.  As they went, Loki donned his court mask.  He wouldn’t let Odin see his fear.  He had learned that lesson a long, long time ago.  

All too soon, the guards were opening the double doors to the throne room and the three were striding up toward the throne.  Loki kept his back straight, kept his formal court mask in place as he made his way across the room, empty save Odin seated on his throne.  Frigga dropped Loki’s arm when they reached the bottom of the stairs and made her way up them to stand at Odin’s side.  Thor stayed beside Loki and both of the princes bowed to their father.  The only one who never had to bow to Odin was his wife.  

“Rise,” Odin ordered his sons.  He sounded like he was barely holding back his rage.  Loki and Thor rose as one and wisely remained silent, waiting for Odin to continue.  It was a lesson they had learned in their youth when they’d misbehaved.  Odin had stared them down for confessions, which had led to Thor babbling to Odin about mischief their father hadn’t even known about yet.  Which got them in even more trouble.  Even Thor had learned to keep his mouth shut so they only had to confess to things Odin already knew of. 

So they waited.

And waited.

Until Odin finally lost his patience.  He glared down at Loki.  “You have broken the laws of this realm.  What have you to say for yourself?” He demanded, trying to goad his son into losing his patience.  He’d chosen the wrong son for that tactic.

“Which laws do you say I have broken, father?” Loki asked calmly, his words careful as ever.  Odin was judge, jury, and executioner, as was his right as king.  Loki wasn’t going to give him any more ammunition than necessary. He was also reminding Odin of the family relationship between them, even if it was by kidnapping.  If there was any hope of mercy, it would be through that familiar bond. 

Odin’s glare turned icy.  Loki’s expression remained passive and calm, a perfect court mask.  He didn’t let Odin see his emotions, though he felt Thor stiffen next to him.  Thor’s emotions were always clear to read on his face and Thor was shifting quickly toward anger at Odin and fear for his brother.  

“You gave one of the golden apples to a mortal.  Not only that, but the mortal in question was not of age to consent.  Nor was he asked.  You acted without permission and have spoken for Asgard out of turn,” Odin recited, glowering at Loki.

Loki remained unfazed.  “I did give one of the golden apples to Peter.  That apple had been set aside for him with Mother’s consent, as is her right as Allmother.” They were equally allowed to divvy out Idun’s apples.  

Frigga inclined her head.  “Yes, I did give consent and gave the apple to Loki to give to Peter.  I foresaw these events and knew this to be the correct course of action,” she told Odin.  

“The law was still broken,” Odin insisted.

Loki had known beforehand and knew more at those words that Odin had already made up his mind.  His mind had been made up about his son since he’d found out Peter had become Asgardian.  Loki inclined his head, accepting his fate.  There was no reason to draw this out.  He was cornered and Odin wanted to see him punished, wanted him cowed.  He refused to see that Loki was so much better with Peter in his life.  

Frigga started to protest, but Odin overruled her.  They may be equal in certain things, but Odin’s word was still ultimately the law, despite his wife’s wishes.  And Odin wanted to teach Loki a lesson, teach him not to act out of turn, teach him to obey for once.  

Loki knew it.  And didn’t give a single solitary fuck.  The field where the fucks grew for what Odin wanted was not only barren, but the ground had been razed and salted.  

He would have broken every law of every realm and burned them all to the ground to save Peter’s life.  They all knew it.  And that was really what Odin was trying to punish out of Loki.  He didn’t like that Loki’s loyalties lay with people instead of the throne and kingdom.  Loki was loyal to a fault, but only to those who had earned that loyalty.  The list was very few:  Frigga, Thor, Sigyn, Peter, and Wanda.

“The usual punishment, then.  And I pray this time the lesson sticks,” Odin glared at Loki.  Frigga protested again and Odin had her escorted out by the guards.  She only had so much authority in the throne room, even as queen.  Odin was within his rights to have her removed.  That wasn’t going to be the last of that conversation, but that conversation would continue behind closed doors and end with Odin being ripped a new asshole by his wife.  And not having sex again for a century.  

That wouldn’t save Loki from the usual punishment.  

Loki had expected it, but fear still knit his heart and his stomach plummeted.  

“Father, please!  This is not Loki’s fault!” Thor protested, trying to save his brother from the pain Odin had in store.  

Odin turned his gaze to his other son.  “You are no less guilty.  You knew the laws were being broken and did not stop Loki-“

“Peter would have died!” Thor protested.

“The life of one mortal is not worth the safety of us all!” Odin roared at him.  “If word of Idun’s apples gets out the mortals will be demanding one for all of them.”

Thor glared up at Odin.  “That is where we are different, father.  I have learned that the mortal lives have just as much value as ours,” 

Loki touched Thor’s arm, a silent reminder not to make things worse.  

Unfortunately, Thor had already made things worse.

“You have a lesson to learn here as well,” Odin told Thor coldly.  “You will be the one to perform Loki’s punishment.  Immediately,” 

Both of the princes paled at that order.  It was horrifying to both of them.  Odin was trying to wedge the brothers apart again, pit them against each other.  He didn’t realize he was only driving them together, giving them a common enemy.  

“And if I refuse?” Thor demanded.  

“Then Loki will return to his previous sentence,” Odin replied easily.  He had the brothers by the balls now, and they both knew it.  Loki paled further at the threat.  Life in the dungeons.  Four thousand more years of solitary confinement.  He couldn’t go through that.  Not without going completely out of his mind.  

He touched Thor’s arm again and gave him a look.  This wasn’t the time to fight, not with Loki’s freedom on the line.  He would take the punishment to not lose the life he was building.  He had friends, a family, he wouldn’t have those ripped from him because of Odin. 

Thor growled, hating being cornered, but nodded gruffly.  “Very well,” he glared at Odin and they could all see that Odin had lost Thor’s respect with this move.  Some of the gauze had been pulled from Thor’s eyes and he was seeing how unfairly Odin treated Loki.  

He was no happier with Odin than Frigga was.  He didn’t have the power to do anything about it, but Frigga did.  Her sons would have to hope that she would get retribution for this outrage.  But for now, none of them had any options.

Odin had them all cornered.

“If we are dismissed, then, Allfather?” Thor demanded.  It was a slap in the face to Odin to use his title and they all knew it.  Thor was livid and Loki loved him for it, even if there wasn’t anything Thor could do to save him. 

Odin nodded and the princes bowed again before they left as quickly as was seemly.  Thor turned to Loki when they were safely out of the throne room. “I am so, so sorry, brother,” he said heartbroken.

Loki nodded and placed a hand on Thor’s shoulder.  “I know.  This isn’t your fault.  Let’s just get this over with and get back to Midgard before Peter worries and gets the whole team in a conniption over it.” Loki was trying to make it sound lighter than it was, trying to ease Thor’s mind and conscience.  This wasn’t Thor’s fault after all.  

Thor nodded and the pair made their way to the room that was already prepared.  Odin really had been planning this all along.  Loki realized it when he saw that everything was there and ready and a guard was standing in the room to make sure the task was carried out.  Thor paled when he came to the same realization, but didn’t comment on it.  

Loki stripped off his shirt as he moved to the center of the room where the hard, uncomfortable chair was waiting for him.  As he did, he summoned, and quickly drank, a bottle of numbing potion so he wouldn’t feel as much of the pain.  It would still hurt, but not as badly.  He managed to down the potion without the guard seeing. Thor did, but didn’t question it, knowing that Loki had been through this multiple times before.

Loki took a seat in the uncomfortable chair and Thor looked at the instruments laid out on the table.  Thor was starting to look green at the idea.  “Thor,” Loki said gently to get Thor’s attention.  

Thor looked over at him, horror and pain in his eyes.  Thor was supposed to protect his little brother, not hurt him.  Thor’s horror grew when Loki dropped a layer of illusions that he hadn’t even known Loki wore.  He knew Loki had an illusion to keep his Asgardian form.  He didn’t know about this.

He knew Loki had been punished before.

But…

Nothing prepared him for seeing that those punishments had left scars.  He thought Loki had healed.

Instead, there were scars in Loki’s lips from the times before this when Odin had deemed silencing the silvertongued god sufficient punishment for crimes real or imagined.  

“Just follow the scars and everything will be alright,” Loki reassured Thor gently.  He knew this would break Thor’s heart.  They were brothers, and though they’d grown apart, they’d finally been healing, and Thor would always be Loki’s older brother.  He was supposed to protect Loki.  Now Odin was making him hurt his little brother for his own sick, twisted ‘lessons’.  

“I’m sorry,” Thor repeated, horrified.

“It’s not your fault.  Tell Peter it’s not his either,” Loki reassured him. 

The guard cleared his throat.  They’d already stalled too long.

Thor picked up the already-threaded needle before he lost his nerve.  Loki leaned his head back against the back of the chair so he’d remained as still as possible.  “I love you, brother.  I am truly sorry,” Thor told him.

Loki looked up into Thor’s eyes and saw his pain there.  “I love you too.” It had been years since Loki could admit that, years since they’d been forced apart.  Loki saw the resolve in Thor’s eyes, not resolve for the task at hand, but resolve that he would never let anything like this happen again, that he would protect his little brother, and he would never let his own quest for power and glory drive him away from what mattered most to him again.

Thor bit back tears as Loki gripped the arms of the chair to keep from moving.  He brought the needle to the first scar in Loki’s lips. It slid through easier than expected, both needle and thread were spelled, though not against pain, not against blood.  Loki kept his mouth closed, letting Thor work in peace.  He didn’t dare make a sound as the needle pierced his lips, as the thick thread tugged through.  

Pain shot through him with each pass of the needle, though it was numbed slightly by the potion.  

Loki’s blood filled his mouth, dripped down his chin.  A small noise escaped him at the pain, as all thoughts but the pain fled his mind.  He didn’t want to make this harder on Thor, though, and tried to still himself, to still his mind.

Thor’s hands were steady as he worked, careful not to cause more pain than absolutely necessary.  He kept muttering “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” over and over again, trying to reassure them both.

The pain continued.  Each pierce of his lips, each reopening of old wounds, each time his blood spilled, each time the thread pulled through his lips, tugging the stitches tight.

He couldn’t help the tears of pain that spilled from his eyes.  He couldn’t help the shame and humiliation of having this done to him again.  Of being muted so openly, punished so obviously.

And still, he would choose this every time to losing Peter in his life. 

Finally, the tugging stopped, the thread tied off and cut.  It wouldn’t come out until Odin had decided he was punished enough and the thread disintegrated when the spell ended.  It was magically sealed with gungnir, embedded in the thread, so there was no way Loki could break the spells himself.  He’d tried before.

Thor pulled Loki into his arms, despite Loki usually hating hugs.  He felt his brother’s tears land on him as he held him tightly.  “I’m so sorry, brother.  I swear to you, I will never let this happen again. I swear,” Thor pleaded with him to understand.  

For once, instead of stabbing Thor for hugging him, Loki wrapped his arms around Thor’s waist and held him tightly, taking strength from his brother.  

He would need that strength to face the people.

He would need that strength to face the horror that would come from Peter.  Peter would blame himself, though it wasn’t his fault at all.  Loki would need all of his wits and skills to reassure the teen that he was ok.  Though he wouldn’t be able to face it if Peter finally had enough of him and gave up on him.

Though Loki finally felt in his heart that that wouldn’t happen.  Peter hadn’t given up on him yet.  He wouldn’t just because Odin was an ass to his son. 

“I’m here for you,” Thor reminded him.  “We’ll get through this together and never allow anything like this to happen again.” There was a resolve in Thor’s voice. He wouldn’t hurt Loki like this again.  He would find a way to see to it that Odin couldn’t do anything like this again, couldn’t abuse the power he had to hurt those he was supposed to protect, especially not his own son.  

Thor’s relationship with his father had broken in this and, despite Odin’s efforts, his relationship with Loki had strengthened.  They would get through this together, fight this battle together, just as they had so many battles across the centuries.  For one thing had always been true: while the princes may have their differences, they were stronger together, and would fight side by side against any adversary, especially one that threatened their brother. 

This injustice wouldn’t go unanswered.  

Thor just had to get Loki out of Odin’s reach before he returned to see his brother avenged.  

Chapter Text

Loki had lost a lot of blood with Thor sewing his lips shut. That and the numbing potion was wearing off. He shouldn’t have been allowed the potion at all, but his mother had slipped it to him and Thor wouldn’t out him, not when it had saved Loki a bit of pain.

Now, though, now that pain was coming with a vengeance. Hip lips ached, a throbbing that was in time with his heartbeat as blood still spilled sluggishly from the wounds in his lips. They healed slowly, thanks to the thick thread and Odin’s insistence on punishing him.

Thor frowned at the sluggish bleeding. Loki nodded his head back to the table of supplies next to his uncomfortable chair. “What?” Thor asked and finally looked. He sighed in relief when he recognized the bottle of healing potion. He reached for it and carefully opened it to gently apply it to Loki’s bleeding lips with a type of cotton applicator that the Midgardians called a q-tip. Thor’s movements were gentle, though Loki still had to fight to avoid flinching. Each movement hurt, and the potion stung as it sealed the wounds. At least there was no more blood that seeped into his mouth once the wounds were closed. Loki swallowed again and against trying to get the taste of his own blood out of his mouth to no avail. He was stuck with it for awhile.

He despised the taste of blood.

It made it worse when it was his own. Not that he’d tried others’ blood, but at least they would be hurt and not him.

Thor put the supplies back when the work was done and Loki was as healed as he was going to for the moment. The wounds were closed enough that they weren’t bleeding, but the rest would take time. Thor turned back to Loki, then, and did something he hadn’t dared to in ages. Loki usually didn’t let his brother give him any sort of physical affection, despite that Loki was starved of it and desperate for it. Loki was also too proud to admit it, and too used to being in Thor’s shadow, of being the dark prince, surrounding himself in shadows and darkness, and pretending it was his choice to be alone, when that was the furthest thing from the truth. He was alone because of his powers, because of his godhood, because he wasn’t perfect in Odin’s eyes, like Thor was. He wasn’t the golden sunshine prince. So he was ostracized and pretended to everyone that it was his own choice.

Thor finally knew better.

So Thor bent and pressed a kiss to Loki’s forehead. A gesture of love and support from his older brother. One he hadn’t received in years. Thor waited a heartbeat, waited to be stabbed for being so close to Loki and in his personal space. He saw the moment where Loki fought against his instincts and where he actively considered his reaction.

Something had changed between them, their relationship had mended some in this experience. Their relationship had begun to heal, now that they both had a common enemy in Odin.

The evidence was in Loki’s reaction. He closed his eyes and purred softly, allowing Thor in that much, allowing him to remember that Jotuns could purr. Loki used to purr all the time as a child. It had been how Thor had known his brother was happy. Then came the day when Loki realized that the rest of the people on Asgard didn’t have the ability. So he hid it.

It had been one of the first things lost so Loki could fit in, so he could try to be the perfect prince, the perfect child.

Thor had hated it when Loki stopped purring and was overjoyed now to realize that the purrs were back. He gave his brother a warm smile. “It’s good to hear you purr again, brother. It has been far too long,” he told Loki, truly appreciating it.

Loki's lips twitched in a small smile, as far as the threads would allow. He nodded and started to try to stand. Thor caught him and steadied him. Loki had lost more blood than he wanted to admit. His pain was also making him weaker than he wanted to admit. The numbing potion wore off far too quickly.

“Steady, brother,” Thor told him gently, holding Loki’s arm to steady him.

Loki nodded and reached for his shirt to dress again. He didn’t even stop Thor from helping him to dress put the discarded shirt back on, helping keep the fabric from brushing his lips, helping keep the fabric clean. Loki hated being dirty. He always had.

Then Thor did something that would surely get him stabbed. He swept Loki up into his arms bridal style. Loki made a disgruntled noise and squirmed. “You’re barely on your feet and I want to get you off realm before The Allfather comes searching for us,” Thor replied to make Loki stop fighting him. Loki grumbled a protest, but stopped squirming. He knew that they needed to get off realm. The guard would report that Loki had been punished and that Thor had performed it as demanded.

Loki closed his eyes and for once let Thor take care of him. He didn’t want the people to see him like this. Not again. “Everything will be alright, brother,” Thor soothed him as he carried Loki through the halls, letting his brother float on a haze of endorphins and his brain hiding from the trauma of the injury. Thor took him all the way to the Bifrost to take him back to Midgard.

He hadn’t told Loki he would be returning to have words with Odin. Just as soon as Loki was safe.

Loki made a soft noise, a worried plaintive sound.

Thor could guess what was on his mind. Loki only cared about a few things, and would only voice that care about even fewer. “Peter won’t think any less of you,” he promised his brother. “He will likely be as angry at father as we are. And we will reassure him together that none of this is his fault,” he reassured Loki.

Loki nodded and laid his head on Thor’s shoulder, trusting in his brother in that moment.

Heimdall opened the Bifrost for them.

Loki wanted to see Peter and make sure he was truly ok.

He dreaded to see Peter, dreaded the look in Peter’s eyes when he saw Loki’s punishment. He dreaded all of it. He dreaded most of all that Peter would blame himself or think less of Loki for what had been done to him.

There was only one way to find out.

He made Thor set him down and together the pair of them headed back to Midgard to face the music together. Just like old times.

Chapter Text

The brothers landed outside the tower.  Unfortunately, the Bifrost never had the ability to set someone down gently.  So Loki’s knees jarred as he landed hard.  Thor’s grip on his arm steadied him as he regained his balance.  He nodded a silent thanks to his brother for his help and support. 

Thor nodded back, and Loki noted that his brother was on alert for danger.  He saw Loki as injured, which he admittedly was, and was taking up the protective position.  Thor spotted something and his grip on Loki’s arm changed.  He pulled Loki closer, shifting their positions so Loki was on his other side.  Loki saw why immediately, the press had spotted the Bifrost lights and were coming to get a glimpse of the Asgardians, of the Avengers.  Thor and Loki both didn’t want them seeing Loki’s mouth sewn shut.  “Can you get us inside?” Thor didn’t think Loki had enough ability at the moment to teleport them. 

Loki shook his head.  Under normal circumstances, teleporting that far would be no trouble, but his mind and magic were muddled with pain and healing drugs.  He couldn’t safely teleport them.  He could and did summon a hooded cloak over his shoulders and pulled the hood up to hide his face.

“That isn’t suspicious at all,” Thor said dryly.  Loki rolled his eyes and elbowed him hard in the ribs, which made Thor chuckle.  Some things about his brother hadn’t changed at all.  At least he hadn’t gotten stabbed for annoying Loki.  “Let’s get inside,” he said and led Loki into the tower, keeping himself between Loki and the press so the press couldn’t bother his brother, couldn’t find out about the stitches in Loki’s lips.  None of them wanted to explain that to anyone, but especially not the leeches who were the press.

Once they made it through the front door of the tower, they were safe.  Or safe enough.  The press couldn’t come in, the security and receptionist would make sure of it.  The brothers strode past the security, Thor and Mjolnir getting them passed without Loki even having to lower his hood.  Loki finally lowered the hood again when they entered the private elevator that took them up to the common room. 

“Everything will be alright, brother.  I’ll make sure of it, I swear it to you,” Thor reassured him.  Loki heard that there was more behind the words, more than just this immediate situation.  Thor was going to go back and deal with Odin for this atrocity. 

He just wanted Loki safe before he did.  He wouldn’t risk his little brother.  Not again.

Loki laid his head on Thor’s shoulder and purred softly, accepting the reassurance that Thor gave him.  Thor pulled him closer, though was careful not to squish Loki and upset him.  “I’ve missed you purring.  You used to all the time when we were children, before you realized that it made you different.  I was sad when it vanished, though, as I could always tell when you were happy when you would purr,” Thor explained, his arm around Loki’s shoulders.  He then considered.  “You’ve truly been unhappy all that time,” he said softly, as the realization truly dawned on him.  “When we grew apart, when you were in my shadow, when father gave me undue praise and gave you nothing. That’s when you stopped purring, that’s when you stopped letting all of us but Mother in,” he said, horrified that Loki had truly been so unhappy all of those centuries.  Loki didn’t answer, but his slightly bowed head was answer enough.  “I won’t let you feel like that again,” Thor swore to him.

Loki nodded, hearing the truth in Thor’s words.  Thor would keep his oath, no matter what it took. 

Thor’s grip remained firm around Loki’s shoulders as the pair walked out of the elevator and into the common room.  The entire team was there, clearly waiting for the brothers.  It was just as clear that they’d gotten some of the story from Peter and Tony.  Peter was pacing anxiously for the brothers to get back and Loki could see clearly that he’d hated being sent home early, hated not staying behind to help. 

Peter whirled to the elevator when he heard the doors open.  He ran over to Loki, worry rolling off of him in waves. “Loki! We were so worried, we thought you were getting punished and-“ he stopped short when he finally looked up into Loki’s eyes when he finally registered the thick black thread through Loki’s lips. “Loki-? How-? What-?” He asked, flabbergasted and stunned.

Loki stiffened, afraid of the rejection, afraid of more pain.

“I will explain what happened.  Right now, Loki needs to get off of his feet, spider child,” Thor told the teen gently. 

Peter blinked and took a minute longer than he would have liked to process those words.  Then he took Loki’s hand to drag him to the couch.  “Of course, c’mon witch,” he said, his usual self, despite that he was stronger, warmer, more solid, and now Asgardian.  The change was subtle if you weren’t looking for it, but Loki was, and noticed the change in his blood brother.  Knew the apple would keep slowly changing Peter as it fully took effect. 

For now, it was enough that Peter was alive.

Loki let himself be led to his favorite couch and sat next to Peter.  Thor sat on his other side.  Wanda moved to curl up in the closest chair to them, worried over Loki as well.  The entire team was filled with horror and disgust over what happened. 

“What happened after we left?” Stark demanded.  Even though he and Loki didn’t usually see eye to eye, he couldn’t stand the thought of Loki being tortured like this.  Not for the crime of saving Peter’s life. 

Loki squeezed Peter’s hand while Thor started to talk.  He as glad Thor was taking the lead and explaining things to the team.  He couldn’t exactly do it at the moment.  The horror and outrage in the room only grew as Thor told the team what happened. 

Peter was still beside Loki and Loki could feel his rage.  Peter had learned to hate. 

It was a lesson Loki had never wanted Peter to learn.  And one he needed to nip in the bud now.  He squeezed Peter’s hand again to get his attention.  Peter looked up into his eyes, anger, pain, rage in his eyes. 

Loki’s lips twitched up into a smile to reassure his friend, his blood brother.  It was a pathetic attempt at a smile, but the reassurance was there.  Loki would be ok.  Loki would heal.  Peter was alive.  Thor would take care of Odin. 

Everything would be alright. 

Peter squeezed his hand.  “What’s the number, witch?” He asked, trying to keep his voice strong, trying to keep himself strong.  Loki could see it in his eyes. 

He nodded with that same tiny smile and squeezed Peter’s hand again before he dropped it to hold up his fingers.  He held up six of them.  Loki wasn’t exactly having a good day.

Peter frowned.  He considered and rummaged in the drawer next to the couch for a pen and a piece of paper.  “How can I help?” He asked as he handed the items over for Loki.

‘I just need rest’ Loki wrote in his elegant scholar’s script. 

Peter nodded. “Do you want to keep listening to Thor?” He asked softly.  Loki nodded and let Peter pull him down so his head was on Peter’s lap, his feet in Thor’s. He didn’t know or care where his shoes had gone.  The next moment, Peter was petting his hair and Thor was rubbing his feet.  It didn’t erase the pain in his lips, but it did feel nice. 

Soon Loki was purring for them, relaxed and safe with his brothers. 

Peter gasped at the sound.  “You can purr!” He exclaimed, amazed, and in awe.  It seemed to him that Loki was a giant cat, which was wonderful and perfect in Peter’s eyes.  Loki stiffened and immediately stopped purring, knowing it was strange. Asgardians and humans couldn’t do it.  Not like that. “No! Please don’t stop, I love it!” Peter exclaimed.

Loki looked up at him, a question in his eyes.  Peter went back to petting his hair gently.  “Yes, I mean it.  You could tell if I lied.  You are the god of them after all,” he teased fondly.

Loki laid his head back on Peter’s legs to let the teen pet him.  It felt good and he could forget about his pain while Thor droned on about what had happened.

Something teased Loki’s senses while he was half dozing.  He couldn’t quite place what it was, so he extended his magical senses, trying to figure it out. 

/Loki??/ he heard the voice in his mind.  That wasn’t strange in and of itself.  Loki was a telepath.  So was Wanda.  Those two were always speaking telepathically.  Though this voice wasn’t Wanda’s.  It was male. 

Loki also realized that he wasn’t just overhearing a stray thought, which was also known to happen especially around untrained mortals.  He usually tuned those out. 

No, this was something different.

Loki jolted up when he realized what it was and looked to Peter.  /You hear me?/ he asked Peter, speaking magic to magic.

Peter lit up in delight, clearly having heard Loki.  The discarded pen on the table started to float with a few other odds and ends nearby.  Peter’s eyes widened.  “I-I’m doing this?” He asked as he looked around in awe, seemed to see the shimmer of gold magic between him and the floating items.

There was no denying it.  Peter had gotten Asgardian magic in the transformation.

All Loki could do was nod.  It looked like he’d just acquired another student.

Chapter Text

“What do you mean, Pete’s doing this?” Stark demanded, looking at the items floating near Peter.  He clearly had no idea how to control his new abilities.  Loki wasn’t surprised. 

Loki rolled his eyes.  His words had been perfectly clear and clearly legible on his piece of paper. 

Stark rolled his eyes even harder.  “Alright, reindeer games. How is the kid doing this?  He doesn’t have magic.  That’s what you and the witch do, not Pete,” Stark protested.  Peter was an inventor and genius like Stark.  He’d made his own web fluid for being Spiderman, helped Stark come up with his newest suit.  He’d gotten powers because of the radioactive spider, but that wasn’t really magic, not how Loki and Wanda meant it.

Loki took Wanda’s hand to make telepathy easier between them.  Her eyes glowed red as her powers activated.  /Can you hear me, witchling?/ he asked her with his own magic. 

She nodded and smiled over at him. /I hear you, starshy/ she replied, calling him her brother as she always did. She’d adopted him as such and it had stuck. Loki loved the reminder in her term of address that she was family, that she loved and chose him for who he was.

/I’d appreciate if you can give me a voice, little one/ he said gently.  He hated using her for her abilities, but was grateful that he could speak to her telepathically, that he could still be heard, that his voice wasn’t silenced like the Allfather wanted it to be.

/Of course.  You know I’ll help. It’s no trouble,/ it really wasn’t a problem for her. She had too much power that she had to focus to avoid hearing everyone’s thoughts. She was glad to help Loki now.  She liked feeling loved and useful.  She liked being able to help.  And she liked empowering Loki. 

So Loki spoke to Wanda telepathically and she dutifully recited his words to the team.  /I saved Peter’s life by giving him one of Idun’s Apples, one of the golden apples of immortality as the mortals know them.  That’s a misnomer for them.  They have immense healing properties.  They also have the power to turn mortals into immortals.  Into Asgardians to be more specific.  When Peter became Asgardian, he also gained the gift of Asgardian magic. That likely happened because he already had his spider-child abilities/ Loki explained to the others while Wanda recited his words for him. 

“I’m not a child,” Peter protested in a huff.  His teasing and laughing was soothing to Loki.  Not everything was as dire as it seemed when Peter could laugh about the situation. Loki knew that Peter was putting on a show to make him feel better, but he accepted it regardless. 

“And Odin decided to sew Loki’s mouth shut for saving Peter’s life?” Nat demanded.  Everyone on the team adored Peter.  They’d all grown to care for Loki, because of his friendship and brotherhood with the teen if nothing else. 

Thor nodded and looked down. “And he made me do it,” he said, rage making lightning crawl over his skin.  He’d hated having to hurt his little brother. He’d hated the unjust punishment.  Thor stood, his rage radiating off of him.  Loki looked up at his brother, wondering what he was about to do, and knowing it was something stupid.  Thor’s expression gentled when he looked at his brother.  “I need to have some words with the allfather.  Stay here with Peter.  I’ll be back soon,”

Loki shook his head firmly and started to stand.  Thor couldn’t face Odin alone.  He’d never win.  Odin was Thor’s king and father.  He out powered Thor in magic, as well as political power.  He’d squash Thor and banish him again, or find some other punishment for his son for daring to stand against his king.

Thor gave Loki a fond smile and clapped a hand on Loki’s shoulder.  “I will be alright. The allfather won’t hurt me, but I cannot let this atrocity stand. Now that you’re safe and out of his reach, I will see this injustice rectified,”

Stark, surprisingly, stood. “And he won’t be alone,”

“We protect our own,” Nat agreed as she stood too.  She was followed by Cap, by Clint, one by one the entire team stood to get ready to face down Odin, to avenge one of their own.

In their eyes, thanks to Peter’s influence, Loki was no longer seen as being there on penance, on house arrest, on punishment.  He was a member of the team, a full member, just as respected and cared for as any of the rest. 

Loki was absolutely touched, even if he did think they were crazy to go against Odin.

Peter and Wanda jumped to their feet.  “I’ll go too!” Peter insisted more bravely than he felt.  He wanted to avenge Loki, wanted to prove that his life had been worth saving. That didn’t mean he wasn’t afraid of the king who had always frightened Loki. 

“Me too!” Wanda insisted.

Thor shook his head. “No, and not just because it is too dangerous.  Which it is.  I need you two to stay here and take care of Loki.  He will be in no shape while we’re gone.  I’m frankly amazed he’s still on his feet…” it was true.  Loki was swaying from exhaustion and pain.  He’d been mostly asleep before Stark started asking him questions. 

The teens both wanted to protest, but they also saw the state Loki was in. Loki tried to protest, but as he couldn’t form words at the moment, no one was listening to him.  He was tempted to use some magic to get their attention, but when he reached for his magic, it slid out of his grip. 

He was a lot worse off than he’d thought if he couldn’t use any magic. 

The next thing he knew, Peter was easing him back down onto the couch.  “I’ll look after him, Mr. Thor,” he promised and pulled Loki’s head down to his lap while Wanda found a couch blanket to cover Loki with.  He would be just fine with the teens looking after him.

Thor bent down to kiss Loki’s forehead.  “I’ll make this right, brother.  And I will return as soon as I am able,” he promised. 

There was still a lot to do, especially with Peter’s transformation. But Loki couldn’t focus on any of that right now.  He couldn’t focus on anything but the fingers stroking his hair and the soothing presence around him.  He was fading fast and let the world fade away. He barely noticed as the team left.  He had to give Peter a message before he let the world fade completely.  He tapped three fingers against Peter’s leg. 

“Glad you’re feeling better, witch,” Peter said fondly. “Get some rest.  Wanda and I will be here,”

Chapter Text

Wanda moved to take Thor’s place on the couch with Loki’s feet on her lap.  The teens covered the god with a blanket and Peter continued stroking Loki’s hair to keep him calm.  Well, really it was to keep Loki purring as both Peter and Wanda were fascinated by it and absolutely adored it.  They both thought the god was adorable when he purred and wanted to keep him purring and happy.

Or as happy as he could be with his mouth sewn shut.

They let Loki rest while the team geared up and headed out of the tower with Thor. Stark and Cap ordered all three of them to stay in the tower while they were gone, to make up some excuse for Aunt May of why he wasn’t coming home.  They would all figure out how to explain what had happened to Peter to her later.  None of them were looking forward to that.  But that was a problem for later. 

First, the Avengers had to Avenge the unfair treatment to Loki.  Or was it Revenge?  Either way, they were going after Odin for hurting one of their own.  Loki had been officially accepted as an Avenger. He’d grown in his friendship and brotherhood with Peter.  He wasn’t just on Midgard for punishment anymore, but had built a life and a family there, not only with Peter, but with the entire team.

None of his found family would stand to see him bullied and mistreated.  Especially by the man who had adopted him, who claimed to love him, who claimed to be his father and his king. 

Odin was acting like a shitty father as well as a shitty king.

It took the team awhile to prepare, to don their armor, gather their weapons, and make plans for dealing with Odin.  The teens stayed with Loki while they worked, staying out of their way and trying to come up with a plan that would work to sneak to Asgard with them.  It would never work and they had Loki to take care of, but it was worth the wishful thinking.  They were just as upset or moreso than the others. 

Except maybe Thor. 

Thor was livid and sparking lightning, hating the delays, but knowing that they were necessary for planning and preparing.

Finally, the grownups all left the tower.  “I wish we could know what was happening,” Peter said glumly when they’d gone.

“I know, but they’re making us stay here and we know better than anyone that Jarvis can’t connect all the way to Asgard,” Wanda replied reasonably, though she hated it too.  They were trying to keep their voices down so they didn’t wake Loki.  They had been the entire time he was napping. He needed to rest after the pain and healing potions he’d been through. 

“I hate being left in the dark,” Peter groaned. “I’m not a little kid.  I’m Spiderman.  I’m a superhero, an Avenger. I’m not helpless!” He complained, his voice getting louder.  He wanted to get up and start pacing, but Loki was still laying with his head in Peter’s lap. “Loki’s my brother.  We should be there with the others facing down the person who hurt him.  He was hurt because of me and they won’t even let us watch what they’re going to do!” He ranted, getting upset enough that Loki stirred.

“But we can’t.  Jarvis can’t connect that far and my magic can’t reach all the way to Asgard,” Wanda reminded him gently.  She understood his frustration.  She was just as frustrated as he was.  She wanted to help more than anything, but she was just as stuck on Midgard as Peter was. 

Loki sat up slowly, groggily.  The healing potions really made him woozy and it took him a minute to fight through the haze that they made.  Peter took his hand and squeezed it. “Sorry, witch, didn’t mean to wake you,” Peter said gently. 

Loki still looked like hell, the wounds on his lips barely closed. He needed rest, to heal, and for those stitches to come out.  He couldn’t have any of those things at the moment.  He could however, help with the problem the teens were having.  Loki took Wanda’s hand to make the magic easier between the three of them. He was the one initiating all the magic, but it was easier to do with two mages.  And he was less likely to blow their brains out. Which was a concern if one tried to use mental magic with a mortal. 

/I can’t take you two to Asgard.  It’s too dangerous for one thing.  For another, Heimdall will have been told by Thor not to open the Bifrost for me until he has spoken with the allfather/ Thor didn’t outrank Loki, but Heimdall would listen if he thought it was for Loki’s own good that he remain on Midgard while Thor smoothed things over with Odin. 

Even Thor, the witless oaf, could spin stories to Heimdall.  He’d seen Loki do it often enough. And Thor would do anything to protect his brother, especially right now when Loki was vulnerable. 

“We know.  We’re not asking you to,” Peter reassured him quickly.  He wasn’t used to using his magic yet.  He didn’t know how after the first accidental use.  So he was speaking aloud.  He was just glad he could hear Loki’s voice in his mind, no matter how strange it was. 

/But I can let us all see what’s going on on Asgard/ Loki continued as if Peter hadn’t interrupted him. 

Both of their eyes widened in shock.  “You can??” They demanded at the same time, desperate to find out what their friends were up to, desperate to see what was going on, desperate to see Loki avenged and Odin put in his place. 

Loki inclined his head.  /Wanda, I’ll need some magic to pull it off/ he admitted.  He wasn’t up to full strength and would need her help. /Do you remember how to share yours with me?/ they’d worked in magical harmony together before.  Loki was teaching her to better control her powers after all.

Wanda nodded and squeezed his hand tighter in hers. 

“I can help!” Peter offered quickly.  He had magic now too and was willing to do anything to help Loki.

Loki’s lips twitched into the tiniest of smiles, careful not to pull his stitches.  /I appreciate the offer Arachnid, but it’s dangerous to do until you learn more about magic than that you have it now/ Loki replied dryly.  Peter sighed and nodded, accepting the answer.  Loki knew far more about magic than he did. 

Wanda’s eyes glowed red with her power as she drew it to the surface.  She carefully opened herself to Loki, gave him access to all of her magic, all that she was.  /Take what you need.  Freely given freely taken/ she spoke in his mind, words of protocol.  Words Loki had taught her for this kind of magical working. 

/Freely given, freely taken/ Loki repeated, gratitude and love in his voice.  He drew on her power as well as his to conjure the image in front of them. 

The wall they were facing shimmered and glowed with swirls of red and green power.  Loki concentrated on the spot and the image cleared, leaving the wall looking like a TV showing Asgard.  It was a complex scrying spell, which is why Loki had needed help with it while he was still on pain potions and pain. 

When the image cleared, they saw all of the Avengers in their armor striding down the Bifrost bridge toward the palace.  There was so much strength and determination in them.  They were all geared up and ready to face down Odin, to give him a piece of their minds.

And all of them were there for Loki’s sake. 

Loki still couldn’t believe it, even as he watched them through the scrying spell.  The people he had hurt had accepted him into their found family.  After all this time, he finally had a real family.

He tried and failed to hide the tear that slide down his cheek.  “Loki? You ok?” Peter asked him worriedly.  He couldn’t remember ever seeing Loki cry.

Loki looked at him and his lips twitched into the same tiny smile.  /One/ was all he had to reply for Peter to understand. 

Peter squeezed his hand. “Me too, witch, me too,” he replied and they all turned their attention back to the scrying screen to watch their friends.

Chapter Text

Something was bothering Loki as he watched their friends walk toward the palace.  He knew something was wrong with this picture, with what was happening, but his pain and healing potion muddled mind was having trouble figuring out exactly what was wrong with the picture.

They were nearly to the palace by the time Loki figured out what it was.  The idiots were going to confront the Allfather.  Odin was one of the most powerful men in the nine realms, if not the most powerful man.  Thor didn’t have nearly his power, not when Odin controlled the Odinforce.  The Midgardians stood no chance.  They were invading a foreign realm without permission.  They were going to confront the king and likely attack him. 

They were going to be slaughtered.

Odin didn’t abide by Midgardians in his realm.  He would kill the Avengers for coming to criticize his punishment of his son, of one of his subjects.  Despite that it was shitty of Odin to do, it was within his rights as the king.

Loki jolted when he came to that realization.  He had to stop them before they got themselves killed.  Odin wouldn’t take mercy on them and there was no way they would survive.

“Loki?” Peter asked with concern and fear in his voice.  It wasn’t like Loki to jump from a 1 on the evil scale so quickly and easily.  Not unless something was truly wrong. 

/We have to stop them.  Odin will kill them.  There is no diplomatic solution here/ how could Loki have been so stupid to let them go to Asgard.  He knew he’d been dead asleep and clearly wasn’t in his right mind from the pain and healing potions.  His brain was still fuzzy and he fought to focus. 

“We can’t.  You said there’s nothing we can do but watch,” Peter reminded him.  The look in his eyes was clear.  He had thought the Avengers would win.  Would talk to Odin, or rough him up a little to convince him to treat Loki more kindly.  He hadn’t thought it possible that the team could lose.  Not with all of them working together.

And any other time he’d be right. 

But not when they were facing the King of Asgard, the Allfather.  Not when they were on Odin’s realm with all of his power all of his guards and warriors at his beck and call. 

Even Thor wouldn’t be safe from Odin’s wrath on that one. 

/I have to try/ Loki replied.  He looked to Wanda.  /Keep the connection open.  Please, witchling/ he said softly.

She nodded, her eyes wide with fear for their friends.  /Anything for you/ she replied, opening herself and her magic to Loki to do with as he willed.  She would do anything to help the people who had taken her in, to help her adopted older brother. 

“What are you going to do?” Peter asked.  They were supposed to be looking after Loki while he rested.  They were doing a terrible job at that.

/What I have to/ Loki replied. 

Before Peter could protest, Loki’s eyes glowed green as he drained more of his magic.  An illusion of Loki appeared in the hall of the palace, right in front of Thor and the group, before they got to the throne room to confront Odin. 

“Brother?” Thor demanded, questioning why Loki was there.  Loki should’ve been safe on Midgard.  He knew this was an illusion, especially as the illusion’s lips weren’t sewn.  That didn’t stop him from worrying.  Sending an illusion across the realms was quite a bit of magic. 

“Thor, listen to me.  This is madness.  You’re leading our friends to slaughter.  The Allfather and Einherjar will kill them for storming the palace, for facing him.  This isn’t Midgard.  He’s the king here!” Loki told them, pleading with them, trying to save their lives.  This wasn’t a battle they could win.

“Loki, we’re just going to talk to him…” Thor soothed, trying to calm Loki, to get him to go back to Midgard while they dealt with Odin.

Loki’s nose wrinkled automatically.  “With the fully armed team?  That is about the worst lie you have ever tried to get past the god of lies,” Loki scoffed.

At least Thor had the decency to look ashamed of trying to get that lie past Loki.

“Thor, stop and think.  Look around you.  We’re outnumbered,” Loki tried again.  Six Midgardians against the Allfather were doomed to fail.  Surely, Thor had to see that. 

They’d had this conversation before, on the wastes of Jotunheim.  Thor had lashed out at Loki that day. Thor fought to reign in his temper this day.  He wouldn’t hurt Loki again.  Not when he finally had his brother back. 

Before he could speak, gentle footsteps came down the hall.  “Perhaps I can help with that,” Frigga said calmly. 

Loki and Thor both paled as they turned to their mother.  The team stiffened and reached for their weapons.  “Mother-” Thor protested.  He wanted Frigga out of this, safe, like he wanted Loki.  Neither Loki nor Frigga were behaving with his plans. 

Frigga held up a hand for silence and no one dared contradict her.  “We will speak to your father and attempt to convince him that his punishment was unjust.  If that fails, I will deal with him.  You and your friends have no authority to do so, despite your honorable intentions.  Loki, dispel the illusion.  You’re in no condition to use that much magic,” Frigga added firmly.  The team wisely remained silent at the queen’s orders.  This was going far differently than they imagined, and their bloodlust had cooled some with the realization that they were doomed to fail.

Loki bowed his head to his mother.  “Yes, mother,” he agreed and the illusion shimmered away.  Loki could still watch from the wall in the common room in the tower.  He blinked back the haze of too much magic use while he was already fuzzy brained and focused on what was going on with the team.

/Mother will keep them safe/ he reassured the teens as they all watched. 

Frigga led the group into the throne room and up to speak to Odin.  Odin’s grip on gungnir tightened when he saw his wife leading one of his sons and a group of Midgardians up to the throne.

Before Frigga could address Odin, before they’d truly reached the steps of the throne, a black cloud appeared in front of them, filled with what appeared to be green lightning as it grew in size.  Thor wrapped his arm around his mother and pulled her back from it, shifting her behind him so she’d be safe from whatever it was. 

He thought it to be Loki’s magic at first.  The color scheme was right.  But it felt wrong.  It felt of darkness, far more darkness than Loki had in him, especially since his time on Midgard.

The cloud grew and grew, the green light shining brighter. 

Frigga gasped in shock and Odin’s eye widened.  He stood, shifting his grip on gungnir to face the threat.  The team readied their weapons, moving to flank Thor, to keep Frigga safe from the outside threat.  Despite that she was queen, despite that she was the only one who could face Odin, they still all rallied to keep her safe from a threat they were unsure of. 

The cloud grew and grew until a pale figure in green and black stepped through it.  She had long black hair and the feel of magic and Asgard around her.  Thor thought it Lady Loki for a moment, but she clearly wasn’t. 

Even when she looked up at Odin and said with malice in her voice “Hello, father,”

Chapter Text

Loki’s eyes widened as he watched.  “Father?” Peter asked from next to Loki.  Wanda gasped at the greeting from the strange woman who had walked through the portal on Asgard.  Peter looked up at Loki.  “You didn’t say you have a sister,”

Loki shook his head, just as shocked as the others, just as shocked as Thor appeared.  /I don’t that I know of/ he told the teens in their minds.  He watched the scene closer.  It appeared frozen, though Loki knew it was just shock.  The portal had closed behind the woman after she had stepped through.  She appeared to be an older lady-Loki in looks, pale skin, black hair.  She even wore black and green like Loki did. Something about her indicated that she wasn’t his biological sister, despite their similar looks. 

It was Frigga’s expression that sold the story that she really was Odin’s daughter.  There was a mix of emotions there that most wouldn’t have been able to read.  Loki could.  He was closer to Frigga than anyone, except maybe Odin.  He saw the surprise, the shock, in her expression, but he also saw the joy and relief in her eyes.  She was glad to see her daughter home, despite whatever happened to keep her from there, despite current events, she was glad to see her daughter was there, alive and well.

Loki’s mind was going on overdrive as he tried to figure out who this woman was and how she’d been hidden from him his entire life.  He thought he knew all of the palace’s secrets, all of his parents’ now.  Apparently, he’d missed a major one.  He didn’t like secrets, except his own of course.  He was usually much better at ferreting them out and it irked him that he had a secret older sister.

Thor, as usual, blasted through the shock with his oafishness.  He looked between Odin and the woman, between Frigga and the woman. He didn’t have Loki’s skill at reading Frigga, but he understood well enough.   “Father?  What do you mean?  Who are you?” Thor demanded, his grip on Mjolnir tightening.  He thought this was a trick.  Clearly he was too used to dealing with Loki.  This woman obviously wasn’t Loki, but Thor was treating her with the same wariness as he did a mischief-bound Loki. 

Loki had to admit that it was a good tactic.  Maybe his idiot brother had learned something from being related to Loki after all. Maybe.

The stranger glanced at Thor and saw Mjolnir in his grip.  She turned her attention back up to Odin.  “Keeping more secrets again, Father?  Why am I not surprised?” She asked coldly.  “It wasn’t enough that you banished me, but you erased all memory of my existence while you were at it?” Her expression, her very being were cold and angry.  Loki understood that cold anger all too well.  He’d felt it every day until Peter had come into his life. 

“Hela…” Frigga said placatingly, pleading with her daughter to understand through that one word.  At least Loki and Thor now had a name to attach to their surprise sister.

Hela turned to Frigga and gave her a gentle look.  “Hello, Mother.  I’ve missed you too, in my exile,”

“I never meant- I tried-” Frigga said, heartbroken over what her daughter seemed to have gone through.  Frigga hadn’t been able to protect her from Odin.  Like she hadn’t been able to protect Loki.

The team was wisely remaining quiet while the Asgardians dealt with their family drama.

Odin banged gungnir to get everyone’s attention back on him.  Which was a stupid-ass decision in Loki’s opinion, but as it was a stupid-ass decision in Loki’s favor, he was electing to ignore it. 

“I know, Mother.  He gave you no choice,” Hela said fondly before she turned her attention back to Odin.  “You, however, had plenty of choice.  You banished me for being just like you.  You banished me because I had the capacity to be stronger than you, a better ruler than you, if only you’d given me the chance and proper instruction-”

Thor paled at those words.  Hela had been banished?

“You were banished,” Odin interrupted, his voice angry and full of power.  “Because you were power-hungry and corrupt,” he snarled at her.

“And now,” Hela continued as if Odin hadn’t interrupted her.  “You torture my baby brothers.  And Loki had been through enough without you making things worse,” she growled at him, power glowing around her.  Her power was green, but not the same green as Loki’s.  This was more menacing, darker, deadlier. “It was bad enough that you kidnapped him from Jotunheim, held him hostage here as part of the peace treaty.  Held him hostage against Jotunheim’s good behavior.  It was worse that you never told him where he came from.  It was even worse that you were going to kill him for the war with Jotunheim that Thor started-”

“No…” Frigga said, horrified. 

Loki paled.  It was true.  It was all true.  For one, he couldn’t smell a lie in her words.  For another, he’d seen the peace treaty when he’d become king.  He knew that his life was tied to Jotunheim’s good behavior.  His parents had left him in the temple for safety.  Odin had brought him to Asgard as a hostage.  His life was forfeit if Jotunheim attacked Asgard for any reason, no matter how provoked they were. 

Thor looked horrified at the implication that he had nearly ended Loki’s life. 

That he had ended Loki’s life.

Loki had let go of the scepter that day on the Bifrost.  He’d killed himself so he would face death on his own terms.

“He came to my realm, Father,” Hela spat.  “When he realized his life was forfeit.  He faced that battlefield and chose to die on his terms.  Which led him to me,” Loki didn’t remember that, but he had a vague recollection that Hela was the goddess of death.  “I granted him the boon of sending him back.  Though I couldn’t control where he landed.  And now you continue to torture him for crimes he didn’t commit, for not being a miniature you, like Thor!” She spat.

“Enough!” Odin roared, banging gungnir again.  “You were banished, Hela.  You were banished to Helheim to live out your days there.  And you will return there now!” He started to gather his power.

A wicked gleam filled Hela’s eyes.

“Yes, father, I will.  Though I won’t be the only one.  You’ve hurt my favorite brother and you will pay for that,” she snarled and rushed up the stairs to the throne to face Odin.  She summoned two long black blades and a horned helmet as she did. 

Loki remembered something.  Something he’d been far too young to remember, but he remembered it all the same.  He remembered looking up at Odin as he lifted him from the cradle in the temple.  He remembered the pale man smiling down at the blue infant.  He caught the image in Odin’s mind of another infant, one he’d failed, his daughter.  The image of her had filled the tiny Loki’s mind and the illusion he’d donned to please the pale man had been made in the image of his first child, of the child he’d lost.  Loki had been Odin’s second chance.

A second chance he’d failed so miserably.

The fight was vicious, though short.  Hela had clearly been honing her skills in her realm. She’d gained power there, while Odin was weakened by age. “Hela, no!” Frigga called, though Thor wrapped his arms around his mother to keep her out of the fray and safe.  The team stood by Thor’s decision and stayed out of it. 

It was over before they could have acted anyway.  Hela ripped gungnir from Odin as he was down on the ground and tossed it to Frigga.  “Asgard is yours, mother.  Rule it better than he did.  The bar is not high,” she said and grabbed Odin by the throat as the black and green portal opened again.  “Father and I have some catching up to do,” she strode into the portal before anyone could stop her, back into the land of the dead, dragging Odin with her. 

Chapter Text

Everyone stared as Hela dragged Odin through the green and black portal and as the portal snapped shut before anyone could do anything about it.  Including Odin.  The king of Asgard was gone.  There was shocked silence for a long moment as Frigga, Thor, the Avengers, and even Loki and the teens on Midgard all tried to process what had just happened. 

Frigga’s grip on gungnir tightened and grief filled her expression for a moment, but she only allowed herself that moment to mourn her husband.  At least until later.  For now, there were duties to attend to. 

Thor snapped out of his shock first and looked to Frigga, desperation and panic in his eyes.  He’d wanted to punish Odin for being a terrible father and hurting Loki for no good reason, but what had just happened… that wasn’t the punishment he was expecting.  Not with how strong his father was.  The Odinforce, being Allfather, something should have protected him from being dragged away by… Hela.  Whoever she really was.  “Mother? What was that?  What’s going on?” Thor demanded, lightning crackling around him in his distress.

Frigga held up a hand to silence him.  “Soon, darling,” she said before he could protest.  “Everyone should be here for the explanation,” she added.  She then looked up and seemed to look directly at Loki and the teens, though they were watching through a magicked TV realms away.  It was like she was looking directly into the camera on that stupid show the spider child liked… what show was that?  IT? No… Office Space?  No, that was a movie, not a show… why did he have like so much pop culture?? The Office! That was the show.  And that’s what Loki’s beloved mother looked like now as she was looking through his spell to him.

Fuck.

She wasn’t supposed to know he was using this spell to spy on Asgard, but she had clearly found out.  It shouldn’t have been surprising that Frigga could feel and identify his magic, but his brain was still muddled by pain and exhaustion from the stitches and healing potions.  Loki knew he wasn’t functioning at his best, but still, he wasn’t usually this bad.

He’d also not really had any other choice if he wanted to see what was going on on Asgard.  And it was a good thing he had, as they would’ve missed the drama with Hela if he hadn’t. So he wasn’t at all sorry for spying on his mother.

Though he did look sheepish when she seemed to be looking directly at him.  “Loki, return home, darling.  Yes, you can bring your friends.  Heimdall will be waiting for you,” Frigga said to him and the teens. 

Loki nodded, as if Frigga could see him.  She shouldn’t have been able to, through his spying spell, but Loki wasn’t trusting in his magic at the moment.  He ended the spell and stood.  He gestured for Wanda and Peter.  /Come on.  Mother is waiting.  With explanations/ he told them both.  They scrambled to their feet, just as desperate for explanations as everyone else. 

Peter wrapped an arm around Loki’s waist.  Loki growled softly behind his stitches, because he was grumpy and in pain.  “Easy, witch.  You’re barely on your feet,” he knew that Loki shouldn’t be traveling to Asgard right now.  Hell, he shouldn’t be going anywhere but his own bed, but they didn’t have that option, not if they wanted answers.  Loki tried to give him a reassuring look, but only ended up sagging on Peter.  Peter’s grip on him tightened.  “I’ve got you, witch,” he soothed as Wanda came up on Loki’s other side to support him. 

“We’ve got you, starshy,” she added, calling him ‘brother’ in her native language.  Loki’s lips twitched up in as much of a smile as he could give her. 

The teens helped Loki outside.  Loki realized as he looked to the sky while standing in the Bifrost circle that he couldn’t call to Heimdall to get a ride home.  He nudged Peter and pointed to the sky.  Peter had seen Thor call to Heimdall enough times that he should understand what was needed.  And Peter was Asgardian now, he had a right to call Heimdall for the Bifrost.  He had the right to travel that way. 

Peter paled as he realized that implication.  He was Asgardian now.  It wasn’t just a favor that Heimdall would be opening the Bifrost for him, but his right as an Asgardian citizen.  He was an Asgardian citizen.

What did that mean for him? 

Besides that, he would stay the same age while his loved ones grew old and eventually died…

Loki tapped his mind with his own.  /Focus, arachnid/ he told Peter. They would have time to deal with the consequences of Peter’s transformation later.  Right now, they had to get to Asgard.  /Call to Heimdall so we can return to Asgard/

Peter swallowed hard and nodded and gathered his courage before he looked to the sky again.  “H-Heimdall-“

/Louder, Arachnid.  Like you mean it.  You’ve heard Thor/

“Mama Frigga didn’t need to be loud,” Peter grumbled. 

Loki chuckled, careful of the stitches.  /You are not the queen of Asgard, arachnid/ he reminded his blood-brother.  Heimdall always kept a very close eye on Frigga if she was off realm.  A whisper from her was enough to have him open the Bifrost for her.  Frigga had said Heimdall was expecting Loki, but he knew Peter needed to do this properly, to accept and claim this new part of himself here and now, or he would be afraid of what being Asgardian would mean. 

Peter nodded and gathered his courage before he looked back to the sky again.  “Heimdall! Open the Bifrost!” He called.  Then added because he was too polite for his own good.  “Please,”

That earned a snirk of laughter from Loki.  Loki gripped Peter and Wanda tighter and Peter’s eyes widened in shock and awe as Heimdall actually listened to him and the Bifrost opened around them, drawing them back to Asgard.  Loki understood the awe in Peter’s eyes as well as the understanding.

Peter was well and truly an Asgardian now.  Despite everything, he was coming to terms with it, even if he didn’t consciously understand that fact yet.  That time would come soon.  And it would involve tears and anguish when it did.  Loki would be there for him when it did and when they could work through it together. 

But Peter had taken the first step to accepting it. 

He would accept it.  He would have to…

Chapter Text

The teens and Loki, who by Asgardian life equivalencies could be considered one of the teens himself, all stepped out of the Bifrost into the chamber where Heimdall was waiting for them.  Heimdall looked over the three.  “Welcome home, highness, Peter,” he greeted the two Asgardians.  “And welcome back to Asgard,” he added to Wanda.  Loki inclined his head in response to the gatekeeper, acknowledging the greeting.  Peter’s eyes went wide at the greeting, at the acknowledgment that he was Asgardian now, that he was a citizen of Asgard and would be treated as such. 

Loki squeezed Peter’s hand and led him and Wanda out of the Bifrost chamber.    They had work to do before they could focus on Peter’s admittedly well deserved existential crisis later.  They needed answers on what was going on with Hela and Odin first.  Loki swore to himself that he’d take the time to help Peter come to terms with what Loki had done and what it meant for the teen’s future.

And how to tell Aunt May about it.

There was a lot they were going to have to come clean to Aunt May about, but that was a problem for a different day.  The fact that she hadn’t blown up Stark Industries or the tower to find Peter was a miracle in and of itself. 

She must have really trusted that Loki would take care of Peter and it broke Loki’s heart that he was no longer worthy of that trust.  He’d failed Peter, he’d nearly lost his best friend, his blood brother.  And had had to turn Peter Asgardian to save his life. 

He’d changed Peter’s whole life, destroyed everything just to keep him alive.

He would make the same choice every time.

But he definitely deserved every bit of backlash he got for it. 

Well, every bit of backlash from those affected, Peter, Aunt May, even Wanda had reasons to be upset about what had happened to Peter. Odin didn’t have that right, even though Loki had made Peter Asgardian.  He’d had tacit permission from Frigga when she’d given him to golden apple to save Peter’s life. Loki had known he would be allowed to gift it to Peter when he came of age to decide for himself.  Frigga had clearly known he would need it sooner, and had given her permission when she’d given him the apple. 

And she was the queen of Asgard.

Which was why Odin’s punishment of Loki was so unjust.

That was neither here nor there at the moment.  They had to get to the palace and find out what was going on.  “Wait a moment,” Heimdall told them.  “She is meeting you here,”

Loki stiffened.  Who exactly was Heimdall talking about? He could be annoyingly cryptic when he felt like it. Loki wasn’t in the mood for cryptic.  There was too much unknown going on. 

A moment later, Loki shoved the teens behind him to protect them when someone teleported in.  Heimdall had said someone was coming and Loki didn’t know whether to expect Hela or someone else.  He wasn’t taking chances with everything going on.  He wouldn’t, couldn’t, see Peter hurt again, especially not so soon.  It didn’t matter that Peter was even harder to hurt now, Loki had held Peter while he was dying in his arms.  He couldn’t do that again. 

It would kill him to lose Peter.

Just as it would kill him to lose any of the few people he truly loved.

That was a large part of the reason that Frigga had given him the apple for Peter. She wouldn’t lose her son again, not when there was something she could do to help him.  She had lost him once when he’d fallen from the Bifrost when he’d killed himself and chosen his own way to die.  It had been a superior death to being beheaded in front of the court for Jotunheim’s crimes of going to war with Asgard (thanks to Thor’s actions), at least in Loki’s opinion at the time.

So it was for that reason that Loki shoved his blood brother and student behind him to protect them as the shape teleported into the Bifrost chamber.

He relaxed a moment later when he recognized Sigyn.  He gave her a sheepish look and vanished the daggers he’d unconsciously summoned to defend the teens with.

Sig ran over to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Oh, my Loki.  What did he do to you?” She fretted and pulled back enough to look up at Loki’s sewn lips.  “I’m so sorry I wasn’t here.  The princess of Alfheim was in desperate need of a healer and since I’m the second-best healer on the realm, my services were offered.  I only just got back to the realm right before… Hela…” she cupped Loki’s cheek, fretting and worried over her fiancé. 

Loki closed his eyes and leaned into her touch with a purr.  Her magic surrounded him, eased his pain, and strengthened him, for which he was grateful.  He still had a lot of things to do before he could rest.

“Sig, we need to get to the palace.  Mama Frigga is waiting for us,” Peter said, drawing the attention back to him and back to their mission. 

Sig’s eyes widened when she looked at the team.  “You’re-“ Loki made a noise and she stopped speaking.  She didn’t need to draw his attention back to being Asgardian and she’d get the story from Loki later.  She nodded.  “Let’s go,” she took Loki’s hand and offered her other to the teens.  Once they were all touching her, she teleported the group to the throne room.  Peter and Wanda were both used to teleporting by then, so neither of them lost their lunch.

The team looked shocked and raised their weapons when the group teleported in.  Clearly, everyone was on edge. 

Loki only had eyes for his mama on the throne.  She looked regal as ever, but was now in her rightful place, at least according to Loki.  She would be a much better ruler than Odin ever had been. 

She stood, gungnir still in hand and rushed down the stairs to hug Loki.  “Oh, darling,” she mourned over him and his injuries, at what Odin had punished him with.  Even as queen, her priority was always her family, and her Loki was hurt and muted.  Her son had been wronged and she wanted it rectified.  Now. “Let’s get those stitches out,”

Chapter Text

Loki nodded eagerly.  He desperately wanted the stitches out of his lips.  They still hurt, were still leaking blood, and he couldn’t eat or speak until they were gone.  On top of all of that, they were humiliating as Hel. 

He would even forgo answers for a little longer in order to get the stitches out.

It made asking question and demanding answers easier regardless.

Frigga gave him a gentle smile and cupped his cheek.  She was careful not to hurt him worse than he already was.  “Soon, darling,” she said gently.  “Just be patient a bit longer,” she wouldn’t remove the stitches in public. She wouldn’t embarrass him like that.  She wouldn’t do any kind of procedure like that in front of witnesses.

“I’m coming,” Thor said firmly.  There was no room for negotiation in his words.  Frigga turned to him and raised an eyebrow. He’d brought his friends to Asgard and they were his responsibility.  She understood, though, the his love for his brother came first.  Especially since it was his actions, though not his decisions, that had caused his brother’s pain.

Frigga nodded, accepting Thor’s words.  She was watching him to see what he would do.  She always had to evaluate her sons, to see which would be the better heir to the throne.  The throne went to the son who would be the better ruler, not necessarily the eldest. 

Thor looked to Wanda.  He knew that Peter would want to stay with Loki no matter what, so he would trust this task to the other teen who had been to Asgard before.  “Wanda, stay with the team.  I’ll have Sif escort you all to somewhere you can rest until after we have helped Loki,”

Wanda nodded “I’ll stay with the team” she promised.  She knew enough about Asgard to keep the others out of trouble until Sif could act as a proper babysitter. 

Thor nodded “Thank you,” he said.  He sent a servant to fetch Sif with the instructions to take the team to the warriors’ lounge so they could rest.  Frigga gave him a smile and a proud look, which made him blush and look a bit sheepish. 

By then, Peter was supporting Loki.  Loki was dazed from the healing potions and had been forcing himself to be functional for too long.  He was fading fast and desperately needed rest. Peter hated seeing Loki so weak.  He was so used to Loki being always strong and always capable. 

/I’ll be alright, arachnid/ Loki said in Peter’s mind, sensing where his blood-brother’s thoughts were heading.  Even his mental voice sounded exhausted. 

Thor approached them.  “Come, brother.  We’ll get those stitches out and then you can rest,” he told Loki gently.  Loki nodded his agreement.  Then made a muffled surprised noise when Thor swept him up into his arms. Loki squirmed and tried to get down.  He didn’t want to be carried and more to the point, he didn’t want Thor carrying him.  “Hush, brother.  You’re barely able to stay on your feet. Let me help you,” there was pain and pleading in Thor’s voice.  He’d let Loki be hurt.  His hands had been the ones to actually inflict the wounds on his little brother.

It was Odin’s orders, but Thor has still fulfilled them.

Thor would never forgive himself for hurting Loki.  Never.

And he would do everything in his power now in order to ease his little brother’s pain. 

Loki settled and nodded and let Thor carry him.  He even didn’t stab Thor for once, which spoke to how poorly the younger god was feeling.  He laid his head on Thor’s shoulder and closed his eyes so he didn’t have to see people watching him in such a vulnerable position. 

“This way,” Frigga told the pair and led Thor through the back halls to the healing wing.  Peter trailed behind.  He wouldn’t leave Loki alone, not after last time.  They’d all been hurt by Odin’s punishment of Loki. 

Frigga led the way to the healing wing and had Thor bring Loki to one of the private rooms.  Sigyn was there already.  “Sit him up in the bed,” she told Thor as she went to get the supplies to remove the stitches, working in tandem with Sig.   

Thor settled Loki gently where he was told and took a seat on the bed next to his brother, facing him.  “I’m so sorry, brother,” Thor had tears in his eyes as he spoke.  He cupped Loki’s cheek.  “I never should have listened to father.  I never should have let him hurt you,”

Loki leaned into Thor’s touch and purred softly, reassuring Thor with his purrs that he was alright.  Jotuns really were oversized cats. 

It wasn’t Thor’s fault.  He’d had no choice but to obey. 

But he still blamed himself.

Odin was the one to blame.

And he was being tortured by Hela.  Or so Loki assumed.

They would get more clarification on that later.  Right now, they had to get the stitches out of Loki’s lips.  Frigga returned with the supplies.  She moved to take Thor’s spot next to Loki.  Thor looked up at her.  “C-can I do it?” He asked.  He’d caused Loki the pain in the first place.  He wanted to be the one to make it right.

“Are you sure, darling?” Frigga asked.  Thor had never been interested in the healing wing or medical procedures before.  She and Sig were perfectly capable of doing it.

Thor nodded, strength and surety in his eyes.  “Yes, mother.  I’m sure.  I cause this pain.  I wish to be the one to begin to fix it,” he replied.  Frigga nodded and walked him through the procedure for removing the stitches with the least amount of pain possible.

Peter stayed at the sidelines of the room, watching with wide eyes.  He was growing up a lot in the last few days and there was a lot to take in.  Or there would be, once there was a little peace and quiet for him to come to terms with everything.  Until then, he would be there to support Loki.

Thor picked up the small magicked scissors and the clean white cloth and got to work.  His hands were as steady as a surgeon’s as he carefully began to cut the thread.  He mopped up Loki’s blood as he went, as the wounds reopened and bled.  He spoke to Loki as he worked, soothing, saying useless nonsense and promising it would all be over soon. 

It didn’t take long to remove the stitches.  Thor applied the healing salve himself and cleaned the wounds, cleaned Loki’s blood-streaked face.  “Rest, brother,” he said as he helped Loki lay down in the bed in the healing wing.  “We will be here when you wake,” he said and kissed Loki’s forehead.

“Thank you,” Loki croaked softly, his voice weak and broken.

“Always.  I love you, brother,” Thor replied and tucked the blankets around his brother.

“I love you too,” it had been too long since Thor had heard those words from Loki.  Odin had forced them apart, forced them to be at odds in the fight for the throne and his favor.  Thor wouldn’t let that happen anymore, not after Odin’s punishment had forced him and Loki back together, not after getting his brother back from the dead. 

“Rest, brother.  We’re here,” Thor promised.

“We’re here, witch,” Peter agreed and took a seat on the couch in the room, out of the way, but there to support Loki.

Loki looked to Peter and gave him a tiny smile. “Three, and only because I am injured,”

Peter grinned, glad their number system for Loki’s evilometer was still going strong.  It had started as such a silly thing, a way to break the ice with the former villain.  No one ever thought it would’ve spark such a strong friendship.  “Glad to hear it, witch.  I’m sure it’ll be lower after some rest,”

Loki nodded and finally closed his eyes to get some rest, surrounded by his family.

Chapter Text

Loki woke to someone shaking him awake.  That wasn’t right.  People knew not to shake the god of mischief awake. He tended to stab first and look to see who had woken him later.  Unless it was his beloved mama or his Sigyn, of course. But he’d known them his entire life. Their presence wouldn’t startle him when he woke.  

But Loki hadn’t been startled.  He’d only been woken.  So that meant it had to be someone close to him to be able to sneak up to him to wake him.  He slept lightly after all the torture he’d been through. So only those he trusted could get close enough to actually wake him by touching him.  

He was still sure it wasn’t his mother or Sigyn.

The hand was too small to be Thor’s, so therefore… Loki groaned. “Arachnid, go back to sleep,” he grumbled and tried to pull the blanket over his head to ignore the annoying puppy for awhile longer and get some more sleep.  Peter usually knew not to wake the god. Loki never slept, so when he did he needed to be allowed to continue doing so. 

“Sorry, witch,” Peter said sheepishly, but wouldn’t let Loki go back to sleep.  “Wanda just warned me that Mama Frigga is getting ready to explain what’s going on to the team,” 

Loki groaned and sat up slowly.  He realized he was still in the bed in the healing wing.  It took him a moment to remember what was going on.  “I’m up, I’m up,” he replied.  

Peter looked worried “Maybe you should stay here?” He asked.  Loki had been through a lot.  So had Peter and they both could use some rest.  

Loki shook his head.  “No, I need to be there for the exposition,” he replied and got to his feet.  He glanced down at his blood stained clothes and frowned.  He used a bit of magic to clean himself up and change his clothes.  He was grateful that his magic was still there and strong.  Despite everything, he had regained enough magic to function again.  

Peter moved closer, ready to steady Loki if the god needed his help.  Loki gave him a soft smile.  “I’m alright, Arachnid.  My magic replenishes quickly at home.  You’ll understand soon,” he added.  It was important that Peter realize that he did have magic now and needed to learn how to use it eventually.  

The basics would come soon.  They still needed to deal with the situation with Hela, Peter accepting the fact that he was Asgardian now, him likely hating Loki for that, and Aunt May killing Loki for turning Peter Asgardian.

It really wasn’t looking like a good time for Loki was coming up soon, but that wasn’t atypical in his life.  He just prayed to all the gods above him that he wouldn’t lose his blood brother over his choice to save Peter’s life. 

Loki shook the thoughts from his head.  There were still higher priority problems that he had to deal with, much as he wanted this problem dealt with first.  He hated that this unfinished business between himself and his blood brother was looming over them.  It would continue looming until they had time to discuss it, until Peter could decide whether to forgive Loki the debt or not.  The decision could be postponed for a little while yet, but it would come.  By Asgardian law, if Peter forgave the debt, he couldn’t demand reparation for it later.  Otherwise, they would be wary of each other, wary of that reparation, for the rest of the long millennia of their days.  It wasn’t something anyone wanted in long-lived races, therefore the law stated that once forgiveness was given or reparation demanded, the judgment stood for eternity.  

He looked over Peter and saw that he had had time to clean up and change into Asgardian clothes.  The servants must’ve brought some of his clothes down to the healing wing for him.  “Ready?” He asked.  He didn’t have to ask where the others were. He had an uncanny ability to find his mama no matter where she was on the realm.  

Peter nodded and bounced over to Loki’s side.  He really was like a puppy and in moments like that, it felt like nothing had changed between them.  Loki felt himself relax at the familiarity of it and strolled alongside Peter, who chatted companionably as always as they walked.  Some things never changed, including Peter’s inability to not talk for more than five seconds at a time.  Loki wouldn’t have it any other way.  Not anymore.  

He chuckled at himself and how much he’d changed.

Peter looked up at him.  “What’re you laughing at?” He asked.  The story he’d been telling wasn’t funny, or at least he hadn’t thought it was.  

Loki smiled.  “How much I’ve changed since I met you, Arachnid.  I used to think you annoying and nothing more than Stark’s brat,” he teased fondly.  

Peter laughed and beamed up at Loki.  “Somehow, that assessment doesn’t surprise me.  I’m glad things have changed,” he added with a reassuring grin.  

Loki paused and wrapped an arm around Peter’s shoulders, pulling him close.  “As am I,” he said softly.  Peter grinned and wrapped both his arms around Loki’s waist in a tight enough hug that Thor would’ve been stabbed for the offense.  When it was Peter, Loki purred softly and settled into the affection.  He stayed holding Peter for a long moment before he pulled back.  “Come along, Arachnid, we best get to mother before we miss all the exposition,” he said and started to the moron three’s lair, where Thor was entertaining the Avengers, and where Frigga was getting ready to give them all an explanation.  

Peter laughed and bounced to catch up and keep pace with Loki’s long stride.  Neither of them wanted to miss the exposition.  Loki was surprised Frigga would give it without him and guessed that Thor or Tony had gotten impatient and pressed her for answers.  Or possibly the court.

It was more likely that it was a combination of all of them.  He wouldn’t hold it against her.  He knew she would have caught him up later.  That didn’t mean he wanted to miss it now.  So he lengthened his stride to make it to the morons’ lair before Frigga started the explanation.

Chapter Text

Loki burst into the morons’ lair with Peter at his heels.  It had been the perfect place for Thor to have his Midgardian friends wait for them.  There was plenty of seating, always food and drink, and the morons three and Lady Sif would entertain the Avengers until Frigga came to tell them all the story.  The warriors would trade stories with the team and they’d all keep each other out of trouble, especially if Lady Sif was in charge.  She could keep the boys in line.  And Nat could keep the Avengers in line.  

All eyes turned to Loki and Peter as they entered.  All of the Avengers, the warriors three, Lady Sif, Sigyn, and Frigga. Loki was a bit surprised that Sig was there.  He expected that Frigga would have left her in the healing wing to babysit Loki, but apparently she’d decided that Peter was a good enough babysitter. 

She hadn’t counted on Peter’s loyalty being to Loki first.  He wouldn’t’ fight Loki to stay in bed and miss this meeting unless it was life or death.  And Loki was doing fine in Peter’s opinion.  

Frigga looked concerned and took a step toward the pair as Loki strode confidently into the room.  It wasn’t his patented murder strut, but it was close.  He showed no sign of his former weariness, or weakness.  “Darling?  Are you sure you should be out of bed?” Frigga asked Loki, a mother’s concern in her voice.

As she was speaking, Wanda got up from her place and nonchalantly rushed over to Peter.  She at least attempted to be nonchalant.  She’d been terrified when Peter had been kidnapped and it was worse when none of the adults had let her help get him back.  It had been too dangerous.  Especially for her to face Hydra again.  That didn’t mean she’d liked it.  She’d pretended not to be affected, to be stronger than she was, but her boyfriend had been kidnapped by those who had tortured her.  

She was a lot more affected than she’d wanted to admit.  

And had learned from Loki’s actions that emotions weren’t a hinderance.  They didn’t make her weak.  No one who escaped Hydra came out unscathed, especially the vulnerable 15 year old.  She’d learned to hide her emotions, to focus on the mission at hand. She’d had it beaten into her. It was taking awhile for her to learn otherwise.  Now, though? Now she’d seen Loki’s rage, had seen how he could use his emotions and how they didn’t hinder him or his magic.

She still had a lot to learn from her adopted older brother and her magical tutor.

Loki didn’t want her to learn how to hate.  He prayed it was a lesson she never needed.  

Wanda hugged Peter tightly and Loki saw how she was trying to convince herself that he was alive and well.  Sig had had that same look when Loki had been brought back to Asgard after the battle of New York, after she’d thought him dead for over a year.  

Loki gave the pair a small smile before he turned his attention back to his mother, letting Wanda fret over the spider child in peace.  He inclined his head to answer her question.  “I’m alright, mother, and I would like to hear this explanation,” he added and moved further into the room.  He took his usual couch, where Sig was already sitting and pulled her into his arms, cuddling his fiancé close.  

The Avengers all stared at Loki and his love.  They’d heard about Sigyn from Peter, of course, but they hadn’t officially met her yet and hadn’t seen how adorable she and Loki were together.  

“Very well, darling,” Frigga relented, especially since Loki was currently cuddling his adorable fiancé and looked happy for the moment.  Peter and Wanda took the last open seats and everyone watched Frigga with rapt attention for her to begin the explanation of what had just happened and who exactly Hela was.  She looked between Thor and Loki before she began.  Understandably, those two were the most interested in her words.  “Your father kept many secrets, as you both know,” she started.  

Loki fought back a scoff.  That was the understatement of the century.  Odin had kept his entire heritage secret from him for his entire life, which caused so much trouble for all of them. 

“He claimed all of them were for the good of the realm, but as you know, that is not the case.  One of those secrets was Hela,” pain filled Frigga’s eyes as she spoke.  She clearly hadn’t agreed with Odin’s actions, but hadn’t had the power to fight him.  “Odin sent our armies to conquer the nine realms to bring them under Asgard’s control millennia ago,” she started.  “Once the realms were conquered, he softened his stance to rule them benevolently.  However, our daughter, Hela, had been brought up to be a conquerer.  She was and remains the goddess of death and was trained to be vicious in and out of combat.  She followed too far in her father’s footsteps.  Instead of correcting her behavior, instead of fixing the problem he created, he banished her to Helheim to rule the land of the dead,”

“Why have we never heard this before?” Thor asked when Frigga paused for a moment. Loki’s mind was reeling with the information as he thought through all the implications of Frigga’s words, as well as the parts of the story she may have left out to preserve the family name.  He knew there were multiple sides of every story, no matter how well-meaning the story teller.  

“Odin also removed all memory and evidence of her existence from the realms, except for the pair of us and Heimdall,” Frigga said sadly.  She’d had to live with the mistakes she’d made too and her inability to keep Odin from banishing her daughter.  She’d fought.  She’d fought hard against Hela’s banishment, but even she could only do so much against the king.

Thor paled.  “Then… is she the rightful heir?” He asked softly.  The oaf didn’t know what to do or say, but he didn’t like the idea of Hela being on the throne, not with how Frigga had described her.  

The boys, the group really, were all still processing the story and processing how big of a dick Odin had been to his own daughter.  

Frigga shook her head. “No, she rules Helheim now.  Either you or Loki will take the throne one day.  In the meanwhile, I will rule,” the boys had both been told their entire lives that the throne went to the son who was the best fit for Asgard and ruling, not necessarily the eldest.  They always assumed that Thor would take the throne with Loki as his advisor, since Odin always favored Thor so much all those years.

With Odin dead, though… things had changed.

And the future was more uncertain than ever.

Chapter Text

“I know this is a lot to take in,” Frigga said when she was done explaining.  The entire room was understandably shaken by the exposition.  There had been quite a lot of exposition.  The revelation about Hela, about Odin’s secrets, had shaken both of the princes, as well as Sif and Sigyn.  The Avengers were all shocked as well, but they were also trying to cope with being on a foreign realm when none of them had been off realm before.  It was a lot for them all to take in.  Frigga, at least, seemed to recognize that.  

Of course she did.  She was a wonderful mother and queen.  She would rule Asgard well until one of her sons was ready to take the throne.  

“I need to take the throne and calm the realm,” Frigga continued, her words gentle.  “Thor, I trust you, Sif, and the Warriors Three to see to our guests.  I will see you all at dinner.” She was giving them an excuse to relax, to take time to take everything in.  Thor and his friends would give the Avengers a tour of the palace and the realm.  He would ground himself again in the familiarity of his home, of his life and his friends and family.  He could share that with the team.

She also knew that Loki and Peter had some talking to do, now that Loki could speak again.  Maybe one of these days Loki might also finally be able to get that much needed rest.  But there were still things he needed to do.  

Loki kissed Sig’s cheek and got to his feet.  “You’ll take care of the witchling?” He asked her.

Sig gave him a warm smile, which had the entire team staring at Loki doting on his fiancé.  “Yes, love.  I’ll look after her,” she promised.  Loki needed to talk to Peter alone, which meant that Loki had to drag him away from Wanda.

The warriors stood and bowed to Frigga as she took her leave.  Thor took up a quick conversation with Sif to coordinate getting the team clothes for Asgard and giving them a tour.  Loki made his way over to Peter and Wanda.  Wanda was still hugging the spider-child too tight, relieved that he was alright.  “My apologies, witchling, but I’m afraid I need to steal the Arachnid from you for a bit.  I’ll return him unharmed,” Loki told Wanda, drawing her attention away from the very squashed Peter.  

She loosened her grip and looked up at Loki.  She was hesitant to let Peter go, now that he was safe. “I… can’t come with you?” She’d been everywhere with Loki and Peter during their trip to Asgard before.  

Loki shook his head.  “Not this time,” he said gently.  Wanda hesitated, but nodded her understanding.  Peter and Loki needed to talk.  Alone.  She gave Peter an adorable, chaste, clumsy kiss before she stepped back, promising to see Peter later.  Sig quickly corralled her into magic lessons to distract the witchling.  Wanda didn’t want to be separated from Peter now that he was finally safe and things were calming down. “Come along, Arachnid,” Loki said and headed from the morons’ lair, trusting that Peter would follow.  

Loki led Peter up to his suite, where he knew that they wouldn’t be distracted.  Loki’s suite was protected with magic so only himself, Sig, Frigga, and Thor could enter without him lowering the shields for them.  Loki led Peter inside, adjusting his shields to allow the boy to enter. He closed and locked the door behind them and gestured to his sitting room, inviting Peter to take a seat. Loki himself took a seat in his favorite reading chair.  

“There is a lot to explain to you, Arachnid,” Loki said softly once Peter was seated.  

Peter considered something.  “What’s the number?” He asked, clearly wanting a gauge for just how bad this conversation was going to be.  

“8,” Loki replied, picking at his hands.  It was clear that the number was because of how stressed he was, not how evil he was feeling. Peter tensed.  8 was not a good number on their scale.  He mentally prepared himself for a difficult conversation.  Peter nodded for Loki to continue.  Loki took a breath, steeling himself for the difficult conversation.  “I accept that you may not be able to forgive me for what I did,” he started, resuming picking at his hands, his tell for when he was uncomfortable.  “I am deeply sorry for the method, though I will never apologize for saving your life.  It was the only way…”

Peter hesitated and actually stopped to think before he spoke.  “It’s real, then?  The golden apples of immortality?” 

Loki inclined his head.  “They can heal mortal injuries and illnesses.  And they can grant immortality to mortals,” he explained, reclarifying what that meant.  Before Peter could ask, he continued with the explanation.  “From now on, you will age as we do.  You’ll live roughly five thousand years…” he lowered his gaze, sure this would be the point where Peter would hate him for turning him Asgardian without permission.  

“Aunt May?  Wanda? Our friends?” Peter asked, horrified by the implications.  

Loki shook his head.  “Perhaps I could acquire another for the witchling, but… we cannot just give the apples to every mortal we like.  There would be too many,” he shook his head again.  It wasn’t possible.  “There are only so many apples available,” he concluded.

“You… you said that Mama Frigga…” Peter couldn’t quite finish the question, couldn’t ask what he needed.

Loki inclined his head, understanding Peter well, even without proper words.  “Mother set aside one of the apples for you.  I meant to ask you when you came of age if you wished for it.  I didn’t understand before why she gave it to me before you were of age to consent to the change.  I understand now.  She saw that it would be the only way to save your life,”

“Why would she set an apple aside for me?” Peter asked, getting straight to the heart of the matter.  He was just a mortal kid.  Yes, he had some abilities, but… that surely wasn’t enough to be given one of the precious apples of immortality.  Not if there were as few of them as Loki indicated.  And Loki, while he was the god of lies, wouldn’t lie to Peter, not about something so important.  

Loki bowed his head, looking at his lap when he finally answered.  “For me.  She knew that I could not live happily in a universe where I lost you,”

That was the key.  Loki, now that he had met this brother of his soul.  Now that he had healed, had gotten better, had learned from the teen who grounded him in the every day world, now that his life had changed for the better for meeting the teen, he couldn’t live in a world where Peter aged and died in a heartbeat. 

Peter’s eyes widened when he realized just how much he meant to the god, just how much his loss would mean, and what Loki had risked to save his life.  He rushed over to Loki and wrapped his arms tightly around Loki’s neck, making the god make a yelping strangled noise.  Yes, things wouldn’t be easy, and there was a lot to learn, but He would always have Loki at his side to help with it all.  

There was only one thing for Peter to say.  One way to tell Loki exactly how he felt with this revelation.   

“One,”

Chapter Text

The Avengers spent the rest of the day on Asgard.  Thor’s friends gave them tours of the palace while the princes helped their mother get the court and realm back in order.  Peter stayed at Loki’s side, helping wherever he could.  He visited Asgard before, so he was at least a familiar face and he was so easygoing and happy and puppy-like that the people couldn’t help but be relaxed in his presence.  

It was a sharp contrast to the dark prince of Asgard who was at his side.  Loki’s magic was back now that he’d finally gotten a bit of rest.  It would take longer for him to fully recover, but no one besides Peter needed to know that.  He wore the air of the confident prince that he was, held himself regally.  He reassured the people as he spoke to them.  He didn’t have Thor’s boisterous exuberance or ability to befriend everyone in his presence.  That wasn’t the only way to rule.  Loki was the god of chaos and mischief, but he was also a prince and he took his duty and responsibility seriously.  The people had learned to respect him as they had finally learned that he had their best interest at heart.  He was wise in diplomacy and fair in judgments, for all that he was unyielding.

Even with his past, he was a pillar of stability for the people of Asgard.  In the chaos of Hela stealing Odin, Loki rode in the eye of the storm, in the middle of all that chaos.  He thrived in it, as it was part of his nature.  Peter looked awed at how easily Loki handled all of the chaos, how he steered it toward preparations for the feast naming Frigga as the sole ruler.  He was the eye of the storm and moved it to his will.

Loki chuckled at Peter’s expression of awe.  “I was raised a prince, Arachnid,” he reminded his blood brother.  “I learned from a young age how to rule,”

“But… everyone was running around with their heads cut off,” Peter protested, still in awe.  The chaos around them had turned productive, cleaning up the throne room, preparing for the feast.  It was an organized chaos.

Loki inclined his head.  “They were.  I am the god of chaos, among other things.  Which means I can turn the chaos around me to my will, which I did here.” Peter was used to seeing a more relaxed Loki, used to seeing him being casual.  He hadn’t been this formal and polite since they’d first met.  Peter knew that it was because Loki was home and was actively ruling and giving out directions.  He had to keep up appearances when the Asgardians needed him.  

Peter paused at that.  “Will… I become a god?” He asked, not quite grasping yet what being an Asgardian meant.  That was understandable.  It was all very new.  

Loki stopped walking since Peter had. “Perhaps,” he replied carefully.  “It will be years before that would happen.  It is a possibility if you have the power and the Norns believe you deserving,” 

“I don’t understand,” Peter admitted.  He didn’t like not knowing things and was always keen to acquire whatever knowledge he could get his hands on.  

Loki paused to consider how to explain in a way the arachnid would understand.  “I grew up learning magic and growing my powers and abilities,” he reminded Peter.  “I trained and studied for centuries before the Norns decided I was worthy of being a god.  Not all Asgardians are,” Loki wasn’t Asgardian by birth, but as a prince was most definitely an Asgardian citizen, so he could claim being an Asgardian instead of a Jotun. “Most who are determined to have the strength, skill, aptitude, or whatever other qualification that the Norns see fit to be a god receive their first godhood either in what you would call their teenage years, or by the time they come of age,” Loki explained.

“The Norns decide?” Peter asked, sounding awed again and interested in the possibility that he might be a god someday.  He still had a lot to learn about the culture he’d found himself a part of.

Loki chuckled.  “The Norns create and control fate, Arachnid, there’s a reason even literal gods worship them,” he replied fondly, adoring teaching Peter as he always did.  “Yes, it is up to them when a god receives their godhead and what it is.” Peter accepted that answer and clearly had a lot to think about.

*

Frigga officially took the throne in her own right.  There was a quick explanation that Odin had fallen to Helheim, though not a lot of details were given on how Odin had died.  The realm realized when the entire royal family refused to give information that it was better not to ask.  

There was a memorial for him, as tradition demanded.  It was far overshadowed by the feast in Frigga’s honor where food and ale flowed freely.  The celebration lasted all night and well into the morning.

It was a group of very drunk Avengers and exhausted Peter and Wanda who finally made their way to the Bifrost to return to Midgard.  There were worried people waiting for them and the crisis had been averted.  

It was time to go home and face Aunt May. 

Chapter Text

Loki didn’t usually drink, at least not on Asgard where he could get drunk.  Unlike Midgardian alcohol, Asgardian alcohol actually worked on him.  It was usually dangerous for mages to drink.