Bonds (Loki fanfiction)

Chapter 9

A week had passed and there was still no word from the Avengers; Peter was beginning to freak out and even Bruce looked quite anxious. For his part, Loki didn't truly care if any of them came back—aside from maybe his brother, though he would never admit it to him—but he knew the spider-kid cared deeply for Stark.

The kid still had nightmares, though not as much, and more often than not the kid slept in Loki's bedroom. Every time the kid had a really bad nightmare, Loki would use his magic to calm him enough to lull him back to sleep. He assumed FRIDAY alerted Bruce each time it happened, because the God always sensed Bruce in the doorway, watching, but never intervening.

Peter was out one afternoon doing Spider-Man stuff when the God heard a knock on his door and Bruce entered. Loki closed the book he had been reading and looked up as Bruce came to stand before him.

"We need to find the others," Bruce said. "It's unlike Stark to wait this long to contact us, especially since he knows Peter is here and worried about him. Since FRIDAY can't seem to find them and I don't know the first thing about operating most of Tony's tech, I'm going to go to the few people who could find the others. You're staying here, to watch Peter."

The God smiled, the grin not reaching his eyes. "I'm not staying simply to babysit, am I? No, I think I'm not allowed to know where you're going."

"Wasn't my call to make, Loki. Don't make me regret saying this, but...I trust you with the kid; he seems to care for you." Bruce didn't point out that it was obvious the God cared for the kid just as much. He had been watching them, and had begun to see a new side of Loki that the God rarely let show; and Bruce was very glad that Peter had gotten him to open up a bit. It was about time. "I'll let you know when we find them; I may need your help."

Loki gasped dramatically. "You? Needing my help? I never thought I would hear that coming from you!" His emerald eyes twinkled mischievously, and Bruce sighed. "Don't push it, Loki. I beat the shit out of you once, don't think I won't do it again." With that, Bruce turned and left the room, leaving Loki to grumble at the memory.

Hours after Bruce had left for the top-secret-place-that-Loki-wasn't-supposed-to-know-about, Peter arrived, still in his Spider-Man suit. "Where's Dr. Banner?" the kid asked, raiding the fridge for leftovers.

Loki, who was sitting on the couch reading Shakespeare, answered "Some top secret place I am not allowed to know about, trying to find the others I would presume," without looking up from his book. The kid's mood changed instantly; he seemed to know exactly where Bruce had gone and was upset that he couldn't have gone too. The kid plopped onto the couch next to the God and turned on the television in front of them and began to eat, while Loki mostly ignored him. That is, until FRIDAY paused the television and announced, "Mr. Parker and Loki Odinson, there is a visitor at the door to the tower, shall I let them in?" The God winced once again at the use of his last name, then realized Peter had gone white with fear beside him. Loki glanced up at the screen, seeing an older Midgardian man looking up at the cameras in the lobby of the tower, angrily demanding to be let in and even yelling at the security guards who were blocking the entrance.

"FRIDAY, who is this?"

"It appears to be General Thaddeus Ross, Loki Odinson."

"Stop calling me that," he hissed, then stood. "I'll take care of it."

Peter tugged on the God's cape. "He can't know I'm here. He doesn't know I'm Spider-Man, and if he knew he would take me away, he hates 'enhanced' individuals more than anyone I've ever met." Loki nodded. As he had promised, no harm would come to this mortal child.

--.--

On his way down the elevator—which he still hated—he magically changed into his full Asgardian regalia, helmet and all. Loki didn't know who this man was other than he was part of the American government or what he wanted, but he was not coming inside. The God wasn't going to kill him; no, he was trying to be better, but more importantly he knew Peter was watching through the cameras. He wouldn't be surprised if the kid had even made popcorn while he watched Loki chew this guy out.

When the elevator arrived in the lobby of the tower, the God strode down the hall to the front doors of the tower. The security officers and the woman at the front desk, who were under strict orders from Stark not to allow the general any further than the anteroom no matter what the man said to them, flinched and watched in shock as the God stalked towards the man. The general himself looked surprised and a little afraid when Loki walked directly towards him, chin held high and without doubt. The God towered above the general, who did his best not to look intimidated.

"Can I help you, General?" Loki purred, his velvety voice laced with a hint of threat.

"I need to speak with Stark," the man growled, glaring at the God, who simply gave him a smile that never reached his emerald eyes.

"I'm terribly sorry, Stark is not here right now. I'll tell him you stopped by." With that Loki spun around and began to stalk away, knowing that he was only annoying the man, and he was right.

"You're not even supposed to be here unsupervised, let alone threatening a member of the US government!" Loki stopped, then waited a second longer than necessary before turning around. He knew that FRIDAY was recording the entire thing. He stalked back towards the man, who was now red in the face, while Loki simply smiled, not unlike a snake. The general unconsciously gulped.

"Did I threaten this man?" he asked the people who standing frozen around them, watching the scene unfold. "No, I believe was nothing but polite, as a matter of fact. But, as I have been told before, I seem to have a rather terrible temper, so I will only ask you this once, General. Get out. And as for being 'unsupervised', believe me, if I was, you would no longer be standing here. I'll be sure to tell Stark you stopped by and harassed his employees."

"You're not authorized to tell me to do anything, monster." The general immediately regretted the words, but it was too late.

Loki was straining, fighting with himself not to immediately slay the pompous man in front of him. He reminded himself that the kid was watching, and offered the man another cold smile that promised death.

"I would choose your next words very carefully, General. We wouldn't want to have a disagreement, would we?" The man stood silently, glaring at Loki with rage but not courageous enough to piss the God off even more. "Now, I believe I asked you to leave?" Face red with anger, the man stomped out of the lobby, looking rather like a spoiled child who didn't get what he wanted. As soon as he was gone, everyone in the lobby cheered, and Loki froze. They were cheering? For him? Though some of them still looked afraid, they were happy to see that unpleasant man getting what he deserved for once. Loki couldn't help but smile a little bit, and this time it was genuine, before going back upstairs.