Chapter 3

Big brother

NOTES:

Hi everyone,

So, first of, thanks for all the AWESOME reviews you guys left me! I really didn't expect this fic to turn out this popular, thank you all so much for adding me/this story to your list of favorites and/or subscription!

Now, I have received a few pm from people asking why this story only has 6 chapters, so, because of all the enthusiastic comments, I decided to add a new part :). Chapter 3 and chapter 4 were originally one chapter, but I divided them and added some new material! So now, instead of 6 chapters, this story is now 7 chapters long! Hurrah!

Anyway, please enjoy chapter 3!

'I, am, exhausted.' Peter sighed as he walked into the living room, dropping his bag on the floor and letting himself fall face first into the couch.

'Why? Did you run into trouble?' Steve asked worriedly, noticing the Spider-man suit the teen was wearing. ''Cause you know you should call us if you do, right? Oh, and might I remind you, again, to use the front door next time instead of coming in through a thirtieth-floor window?'

'What?' Peter asked after raising his face from the cushion and gasped for air, 'Oh, you mean this?' he asked as he looked at his suit, ignoring his father's remark, again. 'No, dad made a modification to my web fluid formula, so I took it for a spin after school. Nah, I'm just beat from classes all day. Sometimes I just think mathematics teachers are out there just to make life harder, I mean, you try and figure out how-' Peter then stopped and frowned as he only now noticed that the captain was sitting at the salon table on the floor, a board of chess in front of him. 'I didn't know you played?'

'Oh, yeah, well, I haven't played in a really long time, but it looks like I still know the rules, at least.' Steve shrugged with a slightly beaten down smile as he looked at the board, thinking about his next move. He picked up a white knight but rethought his action and placed it back on its original spot.

'Want me to help?' Peter offered, already looking over the captain's shoulder, 'So, you're white, huh? Yikes, doesn't look to good for you.' He said as he noticed that most white pieces were already carefully lined up next to the board. 'Who are you playing against, anyway? Mister Banner?'

'Nope, against Loki.'

'… Seriously?' Peter frowned and then watched Steve as the captain moved back a little, revealing the young raven hiding at his side.

A silence filled the room at which the two just stared at each other. Loki's eyes slightly squinted as he held on to the captain's shirt, hiding behind the man, while Peter's eyes were large in complete disbelief.

'Loki…?' Peter managed to utter at which the trickster cautiously nodded. 'No way! That is, I mean, how?! What?!'

'A spell backfired, Thor's looking for a remedy on Asgard,' Steve smiled, placing a hand on the raven's back.

'That's just, oh my god, that's amazing.' Peter crouched down and looked at the raven up close, 'Hey Lokes, uh, Loki, how old are you?'

'I-I am eight years old,' Loki replied shyly, staring at the large black eyes sewn into the red mask as he dared to ask; 'Sir, who are you?'

Peter gasped, a bright smile hidden under his mask as he looked at Steve, 'He called me "sir"!' he nearly squealed and then quickly turned to the raven again. 'Well, I'm your friendly neighborhood Spider-man, but you can call me Peter!' the teen said as he pulled off his mask, causing Loki to flinch in surprise.

'... I am Loki, Odinson, prince of Asgard,' the child replied, his big green eyes gleaming in the afternoon sun.

'… Does this mean I am a big brother now?' Peter suddenly asked in all seriousness as he looked at Steve, determination burning in his eyes.

'Nope, sorry, still a single child,' Tony smirked as he stood in the door opening of the kitchen, two mugs of hot chocolate topped with whipped cream in hand. 'Now listen, Peter, I don-'

'I am a big brother now,' Peter stated, ignoring the words of his father.

'Yeah, no, that's exactly the opposite of what I said, Peter,' Tony sighed as he handed one mug to the trickster and one to the teen. He then sat down on the floor next to Steve, giving him a kiss followed by a quick smile.

'Well, it is what I heard,' Peter smiled, scooting himself in between his two fathers and taking a sip from his cocoa. 'Hey, Lokes, would you like to have another big brother?'

'Does that mean we will play together and grow up together?' The raven asked while Steve pulled him on his lap and in his arms, a chocolate mustache already above his lip.

'You bet it does,' Peter smiled and held up his hand for a high-five, which Loki gave him with a chuckle, careful not to let his mug slip from his hands.

'I'm back!' Barton shouted as he walked in, 'Okay, I've got some clothes and,' he then looked up, a smile forming on his face as he saw the four men sitting on the floor together. Loki sitting on the captain's lap, Tony and Steve sitting next to each other with Peter snuggled between them.

'Oh, hey, welcome back, Clint,' Steve smiled at the man.

'Yeah, hey, I've got some clothes for our Sorcerer Supreme here,' Clint said as he looked at Loki. 'Come on, kid, time to ditch that dress shirt.'

Loki followed the archer into another room and returned after about ten minutes. He was now wearing a bright orange shirt and dark blue jeans which were a much better fit.

'Looking good, Loki,' Peter smiled. 'Wanne go play outside? We could play catch or football or something.'

'Or! We could pretend to be Einherjar, traveling through the vast plains of Vanaheim in search of bilgesnipes!'

'… Sounds awesome!' Peter laughed as he had no idea what the raven was talking about but he was just happy to play along.

'Great, I will use Gungnir and you can have Sleipnir, that way nothing can stop us from our quest!' Loki shouted happily as he took Peter by his hand and pulled him towards the garden.

The warm summer sun shone brightly as the trickster and the spider stood in the garden. Their bare feet in warm green grass, their hair dancing in a playful summer breeze, their capes, made of large towels, fluttering dramatically in the wind.

'Who dares to pass through these great gardens of Midgard?' Peter stated in a heavy voice. He held his hands in front of him, as if he was holding reins, his legs slightly parted as if he was sitting on a horse.

'It is I!' Loki shouted bravely, pointing at the teen with a stick, an oversized yellow cleaning glove on one hand. 'The mighty soldier, Loki Odinson!'

'And what is it that… t-that thou art in search of, o great warrior?' the teen stammered, trying to guess what Asgardian English would sound like.

'It is the Infinity Stones which I seek, I intend to collect them all!' Loki said determinately, now pointing the stick at six colorful pebbles, which were still dripping with wet paint, carefully placed behind Peter. 'For with those, I will have infinite power!'

Peter shifted slightly on his feet, his stance starting to get a little uncomfortable. 'And what is it thou wisheth to do with this "infinite power"?'

The trickster took a deep breath and smirked, 'Destroy all the nasty vegetables!'

Peter managed to suppress his laughter into a loud snort, then quickly went back into character, his face grim and voice low. 'Alas, I cannot grand thou such overwhelming, uh, supremacy! For with great power, comes a great veggie diet! Now, I, the evil Spider… Spi-Spider-Lord… King, and my six-legged horse Sl-'

'Eight.'

Peter looked up in surprise, his heavy voice disappearing, 'What?'

'Sleipnir has eight legs,' Loki whispered with a smile.

'Oh, right, sorry,' Peter smiled and cleared his throat, 'I, Spider-Lord-King, and my eight-legged horse will guard these stones to infinity! And beyond!'

'They are mine!' Loki shouted and he laughed, charging straight towards Peter and tackling him to the ground. 'Evil shall never triumph over good!' he raised the small stick above the teen's chest, holding it tightly with two hands.

'No, it cannot be!' Peter exclaimed dramatically, one hand placed on his forehead, the other raised in defeat, 'spare me, oh great Odinson!' but as Loki lowered the small stick, causing it to bend as it touched the teen's chest, Peter let out a desperate gasp for air, after which he closed his eyes and lay completely still.

'… Brother…?' Loki whispered, softly poking the teen's ribs with the tip of the stick, 'Have you truly come to pass…?'

Peter giggled softly and squirmed as he tried to avoid Loki's poking, 'No, not really, but you need to grab the Stones and run.' He whispered and winked.

'Oh, right,' the raven nodded and he stood up. He walked over to the pebbles, crouched down and picked up the somewhat blue stone, but he quickly turned around again as he saw a large shadow next to him. The small god froze as he stared at a man with dark brown hair, his brown eyes hidden behind glasses.

'High, mister Banner,' Peter whispered harshly with a quick wave of his hand.

'Uhm, hi,' Bruce replied as he looked at the teen who was still lying on the ground. His eyes then shifted towards the raven god, who nervously held on to his pebble with two small hands. 'Loki, I assume?' he asked as casually as possible.

Loki quickly nodded and adjusted the towel that represented his cape so that it looked decent. 'Loki Odinson. It is a pleasure to meet you, Sir Banner.' He said as he held out one paint-covered hand.

'Yeah, hi,' the scientist smiled as he shook Loki's hand, his smile then becoming a little questionable as he tried to wipe the blue paint from his hand on the grass. 'Just call me Bruce, okay?' As Loki nodded, Bruce turned his attention towards Peter. 'Need a hand here, or…?' he asked, wanting to help the teen up.

'Oh, no thanks Bruce, Loki and I were j-'

'Oh no!' Loki suddenly shouted dramatically as he let himself fall on his back, causing both Peter and Bruce to look at him with wide questioning eyes. 'You have brought reinforcements! And you have defeated me with the powers of your friendship!' Loki chuckled as he closed his eyes, 'and with the lasers shooting from your glasses.' He quickly added, directing this last sentence to Bruce.

'Power of friendship?' Peter chuckled as he sat on his knees. 'Isn't that the power of the good guys? I thought I was the villain.'

'Well, according to father, we are all the hero in our own story,' the trickster sat up straight again, collecting the painted pebbles, 'and we have all been the villain in somebody else's…'

'… Your dad teaches you unusual wise lessons for your age.' Bruce said as he looked at the raven with questioning eyes, helping him carry some of the stones.

Loki did not really know how to reply to that, so he settled with a slight smile and a nod of his head.

'Was there something you wanted to ask us, Bruce?' Peter then asked, suddenly wondering why the man was here.

'Oh, yeah, almost forgot, your new web fluid, did you test it? I changed the formula, so I-'

'Wait wait,' Peter interrupted, 'I thought Tony changed the formula.'

'Nope, your dad just kept me up all night and… encouraged me to finish it.' Bruce smiled somewhat as he thought back to the late hours he spend on the formula under the eager and watchful eyes of the playboy. 'Honestly, I think your dad was more excited to see the results than I was.'

'So, my dad didn't really do anything, huh?' Peter chuckled.

'Well, he made sure to install the new serum into your suit… but I created the fluid… and Steve made your lunchbox for school today, so hey! We all pitched in.' Bruce and Peter laughed.

The three men then looked up in surprise as the ground suddenly trembled beneath their feet. A loud, roaring sound like thunder hurling through the air.

'That must be my brother!' Loki smiled as he pointed enthusiastically at the disappearing Bifröst. 'Come on, Peter, hurry!' He shouted happily as he ran back to Stark Tower, his towel heroically fluttering in the wind.

'I will never get used to that,' Banner sighed as he placed his hand on his heart, taking a deep breath.

'Never get used to what?' Peter asked with a smirk as the two now followed the trickster in a casual stroll. 'The fact that Loki now suddenly turned all cute and enthusiastic, or the whole rainbow bridge thingy?'

'… Both, I guess.'

NOTES:

So, what did you think? I added the entire scene with Peter and Loki playing in the garden, at first, I was planning on skipping it... I just really hope you liked it XD
Also, as some of you might already know, I am Dutch, so if you find any spelling errors or syntax mistakes, please let me know! I absolutely love learning languages and I'm trying to write as authentic as possible! (Don't really know if "authentic" is the word I'm looking for here, but you hopefully understand what i'm trying to say XD)

Anyway, see you guys in a few days, and thank you so much for spending your precious free time on reading my fic!