Chapter 2

The Billionaire and the Captain

Loki walked down the hallway, his dark blue dress shirt hanging over his knees, his sleeves dragging over the floor. He looked outside the large windows, noticing how all the colorful flowers were blooming in the bright sun, bees buzzing around, working hard to collect precious nectar. It must be summer.

The raven then stopped as he heard the muffled sounds of music coming from a staircase leading down. At first, he thought they would probably lead to a basement but as he now heard a man's voice singing along to the loud music, he could not help but wonder what secrets would be down there.

Determent to find out what was downstairs, Loki held on to the handrails and made his way to the lower floor.

The raven laid his eyes on a man who seemed to be fiddling on some sort of red and golden full-body armory, singing loudly to the music that echoed through the air, moving his hips along with the beat. He must be working, or playing, it did look like he had a lot of fun. The raven observed the stranger for a moment, wondering whether he should leave or further investigate. Trusting his brother's words that these people were their friends he ventured further, looking at all the strange technology and weapons which were either carefully displayed or carelessly scattered across the floor. He then turned to the man, who was now writing down some formulas on a large whiteboard, mumbling to himself as he did so.

Loki moved towards the stranger without a sound, standing next to him and trying to understand the man's scribbles and calculations. 'Hi.'

'Holy shit!' Tony shouted as he had not noticed the raven was standing next to him this entire time, causing him to jump back and trip over some failed rocket-boots prototypes.

Loki quickly moved next to Tony, trying to help him up, 'I-I am so sorry, sir!' he said as he gathered some papers which Tony had dragged of a nearby table in his fall. 'Are you alright…?'

The playboy stared at the raven with wide eyes as he caught his breath. 'Friday?'

'Yes, sir?' A mechanical voice sounded, making Loki look up in search of where it came from.

'Why is there a kid in my workshop? Please don't tell me one of my one-night-stands dropped him off.' Tony said as he kept his eyes on the child, breaking out in a sweat as he already tried to think of a way to explain this to the captain.

'This is Loki, sir. A spell failed and backfired, causing his body to degenerate to a child-stage form.'

'… Of course it did,' Tony looked the trickster up and down one more time before jumping back to his feet again.

'You dropped this, sir…?' Loki said as he handed the playboy his papers back.

'Uh, Tony,' he took the papers from the trickster's small hands which were still hidden in his sleeves. 'This is so weird on so many levels…'

The trickster nodded along, not really knowing how else to react. 'Might I ask you for something to eat, sir?' he then asked, his hands now on his stomach as he came to realize he had not yet eaten breakfast.

'Uh, yeah, sure, there's a refrigerator over there, help yourself,' Tony pointed at a small white refrigerator underneath his work desk.

Loki looked inside, hoping to find some fruit or bread but all he saw were sweets and small colorful cans filled with drinks. He took a black can out of the refrigerator and looked at the bright green letter M written on it.

'Monster energy…' he mumbled. He looked at Tony, wanting to ask him if it was okay for him to take this, but as the billionaire was already focused on his project, he decided not to disturb him again.

He opened the can and brought it to his lips, taking a careful sip. It smelled weird, but the taste was good. He took another sip. It tasted sweet, even sweeter than the fresh honey he used to poor over his fruit. Before Loki knew it, he had downed the entire can, suddenly feeling a burst of energy running wild through his body.

'Mister Tony!' He suddenly shouted, hopscotching towards the playboy with wide eyes. 'It was a pleasure to meet you, sir! Now, I will continue my journey!' Before Tony could say anything, Loki grabbed a prototype shield and a small hammer from one of the tables, raising the tool in the air. 'I must defend Midgard in my brother's absence!

'Hey, kid, wait-' Tony started, wanting to take the shield back but Loki dodged him by quickly diving underneath one of the work tables, popping up on the other side. 'I suddenly feel like running,' he said as a bright smile colored his face, 'chase me!'

Tony stared at the raven who was now running circles around the table, hammer still in the air, laughing all the while. 'Friday… what the fuck is going on here?'

'It seems like Loki's energy levels have doubled due to the sugary drink he just consumed, sir.'

'Sugary drink?' Tony frowned and he looked at the refrigerator, finding the empty can on the floor. '…shit.' He sighed as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. 'Okay, I've got a hyperactive god-child running circles in a workshop filled with weapons that could easily blow up the entire street,' he mumbled as he wondered what to do next. There was no way the trickster could stay here, not like this at least, so he had to think of something to make him go away. A smirk then grew on Tony's face as he suddenly came up with an idea.

'So, you want to defend Earth, uh, Midgard, right?' the playboy asked as he straightened his back, his voice strong and determent.

'Right!' Loki shouted as he came to an abrupt stop.

'Well then, you will be in need of a uhm, a side-kick! Yes, someone to watch your back and help you guard… us!' Tony said with as much authority as he could muster, hardly able to suppress a chuckle as he saw the raven's bright green eyes grow big.

'You are right,' Loki gasped as he climbed up the desk and walked towards Tony, his face now only an inch away from his. 'Will you be my side-kick, Tony?' he asked as he enthusiastically shifted from one feet to another.

'Me? Yeah right, as if I would ever be your subordinate.' Tony let out a scoffing snort but he quickly got back into character as he saw the child's disappointed expression. He cleared his throat and continued, 'I mean, as you can see, I am in charge of creating weaponry, I have no time to spare on actual battle, however! If you will go up the stairs, I am certain you will find a fine warrior who is worthy to stand in your small, tiny shadow!'

Loki's smile widened till the point where Tony could count all his teeth. 'Then I shall go and find this fine warrior. Thank you, Tony!' he then opened his arms and wrapped them around the playboy's neck in a hug. 'You are the best,' he whispered.

Tony froze for a second. Was this really the same god who tried to take over Earth? Was this really the same guy he'd been fighting with over countless small things like whether or not it was normal to drink alcohol during the day? What was it to Loki anyway? It's not like he had to drink it. Tony's face twitched in irritation as he remembered his seemingly endless arguments with the god of Sassgard. He then looked at that same god who was now hanging from his neck, hugging him with the most adorable smile Tony had ever seen.

He sighed and wrapped his arms around the child's waist. 'No problem, Lokes,' he smiled at the god, placing him back on the floor and watching him jump up the stairs, hammer held high.

Loki skipped through the hallway again. There were hardly any noises coming from inside, making it able for him to hear the songs of the birds and the leaves of the trees moving in a summer breeze. He smiled while looking around him, concluding that his older brother was right; these Midgardians were indeed very kind.

Deciding it was perfect weather to play outside, Loki dragged a heavy chair he found in the dining room towards an open window and cautiously climbed outside. With his bare feet now digging into soft green grass he explored the large garden, rolling down hills, watching the fish swim in a stylish decorated pound and climbing the trees, laughing all the while.

As he watched down from an old oak tree, he saw a man sitting in the grass. He seemed concentrated, looking up from his lap and into the garden and back at his lap again. Climbing down some branches before letting himself fall to the ground, Loki made his way towards the stranger. He coughed in his hand, making sure the man would hear him, hoping he would not startle him like he did with Tony.

'Hello, sir,' he started, keeping his distance just to be sure, 'my name is L-'

'Hey, Loki,' the man turned around, a kind smile on his face.

The raven stared at the stranger for a second with wide eyes. Apparently, the blond knew who he was, making Loki wonder if he had ever seen him before. 'You know my name, sir?'

'Sure do, Tony texted me. I'm Steve. I'd give you a hand, but,' the captain said as he showed his hands, which were stained by the charcoal pencil he was drawing with.

'That is okay,' Loki smiled, he wondered what "texting" was for a brief moment but as he sat down next to the captain and admired his drawing, the question disappeared from his mind. 'This is beautiful,' his voice was soft, almost in a whisper.

'Thanks,' Steve chuckled as the raven scooted over and carefully placed his soft hands on the captain's arm. 'My brother said you are all warriors, he had not told me you were also artists.'

'Well, I'm not really sure about calling myself an artist,' Steve said as a soft blush colored his cheeks. He then noticed the hammer and prototype shield which Tony had tried to convince the captain to use. 'So, are you our guardian?'

Loki tilted his head slightly and blinked his eyes as he wondered what the captain meant. He then looked at the items in his hands, 'Oh, well, Tony said I should look for a side-kick to defend Midgard with but… I think I would rather stay here.' He carefully placed the items at his side, pulled his knees up to his chest and wrapped his arms around his legs, admiring the view. 'I like summer, it is really pretty.'

'Sure is,' Steve agreed as he looked ahead, then turning to the raven again. 'Would you like to draw with me?'

Loki nodded in excitement and stretched his arms out to take the paper and colorful markers the blond handed to him.

Steve laughed as he saw how the trickster's hands were still hidden inside the fabric of the now oversized dress shirt. 'Here, let me get that for you,' he smiled as he gently rolled up the sleeves.

Loki spend about thirty minutes on his drawing, the tip of his tongue sticking out of his mouth as he concentrated on the details, his hands and face decorated with colorful streaks from his markers. 'Done!' He shouted, holding up his drawing with a proud smile.

'That's quite the scene you drew there,' Steve looked at the drawing, slightly raising his brow as he tried to understand what was going on in the picture. 'Care to tell me what it is about?'

'Well, this is me, and this is Thor, aaaand this is the bilgesnipe that tried to kill us,' the trickster explained casually, a smile on his face. 'You know, just an average battle.'

'Uh, yeah, sure is uhm, average.' Steve smiled somewhat uncomfortably, now wandering what kind of place Asgard must have been like. 'And who are these two guys?' he asked, pointing at the stick figures in the corner of the drawing who were holding, well, they were holding something.

'That would be you and Tony.' the god smiled, 'You are brave warriors, just like me and Thor, so I drew you as well.' Loki looked at his drawing with pride, he then looked at the captain, holding out his drawing. 'Here, it is for you.'

After staring for a second at the kid, in which Steve didn't know what to say, a smile became visible on his face and he excepted the artwork. 'Thanks, Loki. That's really generous, I know you worked hard on this so I'll make sure everyone can see it.' He then picked Loki up and let him sit on his neck, causing the god to laugh as he held on to the captain's hands to keep himself balanced. They walked back inside Stark Tower and hang the picture on the refrigerator. It might have been a bit cliché, but the captain couldn't think of a better place to hang it at the moment.

He placed Loki on the kitchen counter so he could watch him while he prepared breakfast. A healthy meal, consisting of a boiled egg, toast, a piece of fruit and some fresh orange juice for the both of them. Some might agree that it was slightly better than a can of energy drink.