Hi everyone! Well, this is just something that's been running around in my head. And as I'm getting nowhere with my other fics I figured I'd better write something so I don't fall out of the habit. So, here this is. I own nothing, except Ryan and Steve's wife, (unless you imagine her as Black Widow, I left it open for you guys.) Well enjoy, and please feel free to review!
Steve Rogers had seen plenty of strange and unexplainable things in his life. He himself was rather unexplainable. However, no matter how many aliens he fought, how many super powered criminals he brought to justice, he just could not picture anything more strange and unexplainable then the scene before him.
His six year old daughter Ryan was currently poking at a motionless Loki, who was sprawled on the ground of his backyard, with a wooden sword. A bucket on her head served as a helmet, and an old trash can lid gripped in her other hand acting as a shield.
"Ha! This is your end villiam! Good will always triumph!" "It's villain dear." Steve's wife called out from her seat on the porch. "Mom!" Ryan cried out indignantly, "You're ruining the moment!"
"Indeed" Loki joined in, turning his head to glance at the woman. "The dramatic affect is much spoiled." Ryan poked him again with her sword, a little harder, "Shhh! You're supposed to be dead!"
Loki raised his hands apologetically and returned to his original pose. Steve took this moment to announce his presence with a cough. Ryan's head whipped around, the bucket helmet falling down over her eyes. "Daddy!" She cried, running towards him, a huge grin lighting up her face. Steve returned the smile and scooped her up into a hug. "Hey princess, how's your day been?"
"Great! Uncle Loki gave me this sword and let me kill him with it!" "Five times." Steve's wife added with a smile as she sidled up to kiss her husband. "Really?" Steve asked with a forced smile. He placed his daughter back on the ground and gave her pat on the back towards Loki, "Go make it an even six."
Ryan beamed and saluted her father before running back to her victim. Steve turned to his wife, smile gone, and asked in a harsh whisper, "I thought we agreed no more weapon presents from 'Uncle Loki'?" "You want to find some way to keep a shape-shifting, teleporting, alien prince from giving stuff to your daughter, you figure it out. I have a hard enough time making sure they behave themself while he's here."
Steve rolled his eyes and glared at the god of mischief currently faking death on his lawn for the sixth time that day. As he watched his daughter squeal with laughter as the man gave an overly dramatic performance of being stabbed, wooden sword stuck between his chest and left arm; Steve thought back to the first day Loki had begun wriggling into his family's life.
III
Ryan was only a few months old, and had been decidedly against the concept of a good night's sleep since day one. It was two in the morning, and Ryan had been making a ruckus fit to raise the dead. Giving his poor exhausted wife a break, Steve had gotten up to check on the baby, and walking into her room had gotten the second biggest shock of his life since the day he had woken up in the SHEILD headquarters.
Loki was sitting in their rocking chair holding a sniffling Ryan in his arms, making soft shushing sounds as he rocked back and forth. He looked up at Steve standing frozen in the door way, and held up a finger to his lips, "Shh, I've almost got her asleep again." Steve stared blankly at the scene in shock for another long moment, before finally regaining enough sense to open his mouth.
"What on earth are you-" "Shh!" Loki repeated more forcefully. He gave Steve a stern look, and Steve closed his mouth back up again. Loki turned back to the baby, and gave her a look of affection that Steve had never even imagined could cross his face. Still in shock, he gave a small cough to clear his throat, and asked again in a quieter voice, "Um… what are you doing here?"
"Oh, I was passing by, in the neighborhood and thought it might be diverting to…pay you a visit." Loki responded with a careless shrug, his smug tone indicating it would have been a very unpleasant visit indeed. "I'd just let myself in when I heard your lovely offspring wake up and…here I am."
He smiled again at the baby who was now fast asleep in his arms, sucking her thumb with one hand and clutching one of his fingers with the other. "I must say Rogers she is quite charming, good job."
"Um…thanks." Steve finally replied, sitting down on the cedar chest on the opposite side of the room. "No really, she's perfect. What did you name her?" He turned to Steve suddenly with a wry smile, "Will I blush?"
It took Steve a moment to work out just exactly what the man meant, and when he did he felt his face grow hot with irritation. "No! We didn't name her Loki!" He managed to sputter, "Her name's Ryan."
Loki raised an eyebrow, "Ryan? Forgive me if I'm mistaken but… isn't that name usually reserved for male Midgardian children?" Steve gave a helpless shrug, "The wife wanted something modern. I wasn't exactly inclined to argue with her after all the trouble she went through."
Loki nodded as though he understood perfectly, "Indeed, in such times tis usually best to let the women have their way. Heaven knows I've had to agree to several names that-" He broke off when he noticed Steve staring at him. This time it was Loki's turn to cough.
"Well, I… suppose I should be on my way." He stood up from the rocking chair and handed Ryan to a startled Steve, being careful not to wake her in the transfer. He stroked the child's head with his thumb one last time as he did so, a wistful smile crossing his face. Then with a swirl of his trench coat he turned to go.
Just before he did so, he looked back over his shoulder at Steve, and grinned. "Truly exceptional work Rogers, I may just have to steal her from you someday." And before Steve could even cry out in protest, he'd disappeared.
III
As things had turned out, Loki had not stolen Ryan. What he had done however was slowly but surely integrate himself into the Roger's family by stealing her heart. He had shown up at every birthday since, always bearing presents of some sort or another designed to delight the girl and inspire her to all sorts of mischief. He had been present at every major milestone, from her first steps to her first bike. He had appeared on every holiday imaginable, even some Steve had never heard of and was quite sure he'd had made up just to have an excuse too literally 'pop in'.
Steve would never have guessed from his previous and sometimes current (though decidedly less frequent) bouts with Loki on the battle field that he could be so good with children, especially young girls. But he was, and Ryan adored him.
This, besides the fact it was near impossible to stop him from just appearing on their doorstep, was the biggest factor in letting Loki stay around. Indeed, Steve and his wife had long ago given up hope of every finding a way to permanently stop Loki's visits. Their fridge was covered in Ryan's drawings of him, their photo albums stuffed with pictures he'd managed to sneak himself into. (Steve also suspected he was stealing photos of Ryan to take back home.)
Somehow or other, wither the two elder Rogers liked it or not, he'd become part of the family.
None of the other Avengers could fathom why on earth Steve was letting such a dangerous and obviously deranged criminal practically help raise his daughter. Loki couldn't actually care about the kid, he was obviously using her as part of some nefarious scheme that would surely bring ruin on them all in the end.
"I'm telling you man," Tony had told him once, "One day you're gonna wake up and see her dressed as like, mini-Loki or something and trying to take over the world!" Steve had been to embarrassed to inform Tony that she had actually begged for just such a costume for that year's Halloween. Even Thor had seemed dubious of his brother's intentions. (Though he may have just been smarting over Loki's recent remark that' maybe if Thor did his duty as future king and actually settled down and gave Loki some nieces and nephews he'd actually have a reason to spend more time with Thor.)
Actually, there was one very good reason that Steve let Loki lavish affection on Ryan. He… felt sorry for him. Soon after their first encounter, way back when Loki was unleashing aliens from the sky upon New York, Steve had begun researching the maniac who'd threatened this new future world of his.
He had not liked what he'd found. He was unsure of how much of the myths he'd read were true, and how much where just fantasy, he'd never bothered to ask. But after reading what he had, and gathering some of the more recent events of Loki's life from Thor… well he felt he had a much better understanding of the man, of why he did what he did. He didn't excuse his behavior, but… he could understand where Loki was coming from.
He also thought he understood just why Loki was so drawn to his daughter. He saw her as a new chance. A chance for him to finally raise a child that wouldn't be taken from him and locked away or… worse. He saw Ryan as the only shot for real happiness he had left.
Steve may not have liked Loki, but… he didn't hate him. He knew what it was like to have your world ripped out from under you, to have everything you knew and loved suddenly disappear in the blink of an eye. And he knew what it was like to finally find something to hold onto, something to bring you back from the edge of hopelessness, something to love.
If that was what Ryan was for Loki, well… Steve was willing to share.
But he was still going to have word's with him about that sword.