A/N: *sobs and bows* I'm so sorry for the delay! I have a life and it just hit me, so I've been a bit busy. I tried to make this extra long, include a lot more characters, and make it extra angsty and cutesy. Please enjoy!
[CHAPTER 10- Punishment]
"Look, Natty!" Loki beamed and held out the project he had been working on all day.
The woman glanced down for a second before returning to loading guns on her person and checking her weapons for ammo. "It's very nice, sweetie, but not now, okay?" The red headed Avenger turned from the seven year old and began talking to Clint in hurried tones.
The green eyed boy's smile dimmed slightly, but he was determined not to give up. Quickly, he bounced over to the next member of his makeshift family.
"Steve, Steve! Look!" He grinned. The blonde super solider frowned and looked down at the boy.
"Listen, Loki, we're really busy right now, okay?" The man quickly returned to the information that had just been sent by Fury. "Alright... With Stark's technology we should get there in-"
Loki was disinterested in what the blue eyed American said next. Natasha, Clint, and Steve were busy, and he hadn't seen Tony or Bruce yet. Thor! His brother would definitely see what he had done!
"Brother! Brother!" He called excitedly with a happy smile. He darted towards where he had last seen the thunderer, but he was surprised to find his big brother in his battle armor. "Brother?"
"Please not now, Loki," the blonde brushed past him to talk to the gathered team members. The dark haired boy watched the happenings with rapidly darkening eyes.
Well, that just left Tony and Bruce since everyone else was too busy.
The seven year old moved stealthily towards the lab, but he met Tong half way. The brunette was in red and gold full-body armor; he had his face plate flipped up to make sure he could speak clearly and not bump into anyone inside the tower. The man had yet to be debriefed on the situation, and he'd really appreciate it if Steve could just tell them what they were up against.
"Look, Tony!" Loki smiled and held up his project.
"Not now, kid," the man huffed and didn't bother looking down. Some part of his brain recognized that his irritation with Steve and the stress of this whole situation shouldn't be taken out on Loki, but he really couldn't care less right now. Right now, he needed to focus on meeting up with Steve and getting the details of what was happening.
Loki's paper thin smile faded to a light frown. Subconsciously, he remembered Odin pushing him away like this, especially about his magic. Sure this project wasn't as big as a new magic trick, but it was still important to him and it had taken the whole day.
"You didn't even look," he protested, tailing after the brown eyed man. Tony scowled and let his eyes flicker down for a second.
"There, I looked. Can you go... play or something now?" He demanded. Loki's frown immediately morphed into a scowl.
"It'll only take a second," he tried for a third time. He held out his project.
Tony stopped in his tracks and lifted a hand to his forehead. He didn't have time for this. He had already been stressing enough lately about upgrading everyone's inventions, keeping the house from being destroyed, and trying to fill in where Loki's father had obviously failed. Now, Fury was telling them there was some emergency that all of them had to take care of now; he did not have the patience to deal with a persistent seven year old.
Still, he would do his best to not make any... especially rash decisions.
"Loki, please, I really don't have time for this. We can all look at it later, alright? I need to talk to Steve," the man offered without moving his hand from his face.
"It won't be as special then," Loki sighed.
"I'm sorry, but this is really important, okay? JARVIS will be here to take care of you, but we all have to take care of something really important," Tony tried to assure him.
The project slipped from Loki's fingers.
"You're leaving me here alone?" His voice was tinged with a hint of panic.
"You won't be alone. JARVIS will watch you," the brunette repeated and continued walking. The boy stood in shock for a moment before rushing to catch up.
"Please, don't leave me alone," he called and reached for the man.
"Will you calm down? We're not leaving you for good, alright? We should be back by nighttime at the latest."
The seven year old stiffened again. He shook his head. "Please, please. Don't leave me here. Don't go away!" He grabbed the man's hand and tugged lightly, trying to get him to stop.
"Did you not hear what I just said?" Tony demanded, feeling aggravated. He glared down at the child. "This isn't a game, Loki. I'm not giving you an option. Stay here; we will be back. I'll even call Pepper, and maybe she can stay with you, okay?" Why couldn't Loki just let them do their jobs?
"Stark! Hurry up!" Steve's voice demanded through the intercom.
"You can't go!" Loki shouted and pulled on the man's arm even harder.
"Okay, that is enough! I have tried to be patient with you, but I do not have time for this!" Iron Man growled and grabbed the child by his upper arm. "JARVIS, call Pepper and ask her to come here and look after Loki!"
"Yes sir."
"And you! Just... Just stay and here and behave, for Pete's sake!" With those final words, he threw Loki into the nearest room without looking and had JARVIS lock the door. "Alright, alright! I'm coming, Spangles!" He grumbled to the annoying buzz in his ears. Angrily, Tony stormed off to finally meet up with his team.
Inside the closet, Loki held back angry and frightened tears. He didn't know exactly what he did wrong, but he knew that he had pushed Tony too far. Maybe... Maybe he should have just let it go. His project really wasn't that important... He just wanted to show his new family how much he loved them, so he used his new art skills from Steve to make a painting of the Avengers and him.
The painting (which had been abandoned on the floor of the hallway) showed Loki sitting happily in Natasha's lap while playing a game with Steve, Clint, and Tony. Bruce and Thor stood nearby, watching happily. There was a smile on everyone's face, and the entire picture had been done in bright, happy colors.
Loki shrank back against a wall of the closet and stared at the darkness around him. Darkness... He knew he didn't like the darkness for some reason. He had been fine with it when he had been in Asgard, but ever since he had come to live with the Avengers, he had problems with any dark places.
He had been here for days. When were they going to let him go? It had been just a stupid prank, and he had just been trying to make up for it by getting Sif new hair... It hurts so much... (1)
How long had he been here? His legs were sore from walking, but he knew he couldn't stop. His son didn't deserve this. He had to find him and rescue him... It hurts so much... (2)
It had been an eternity since he had last seen the light... All he knew was the sensation of loss and falling... It hurts so much... (3)
The seven year old felt his breaths coming rapidly and his heart beat uncontrollably, but it was an almost distant feeling. What were these feelings? He remembered them but he didn't, and he just wished they would leave him alone.
He clamped his hands over his ears and let out a wild scream, hoping to make everything go away. The darkness was surrounding him and pressing in on all sides. He didn't like the dark because it made him see things, and with the light he was blind to this agony.
Sometimes, the dark made him want to go back home, and other times the dark made him wish for nothing more than to burn that golden city to the ground. The darkness made names spin around in his head, and he knew them but he really didn't. And the dark made him hear a nasty, mean voice that always sounded so sad and he just wanted it all to go away!
Loki screamed again, just because he had to be sure there was air in his lungs. For some reason, he thought there wouldn't be air. There would be nothing but darkness, and it would consume him, and he would choke, and he would be taken.
How much time had been spent in this dark place? He had finally stopped falling, but everything about him felt weak and strained, as though he had been running and running and hadn't stopped. There were things here that touched and abused him, and they made sounds that he came to fear. He didn't like it here. It hurt so much... (4)
Something inside of him was pushing against the walls of his mind. He didn't want those barriers to break; he was afraid of what would be unleashed. Those barricades were holding something back, something that would hurt everybody. So he couldn't let whatever was inside of him out.
There was too much darkness and he felt too small and too helpless and Thor, please come for me and Daddy, why did you leave me but it couldn't be their faults because he was bad and he deserved everything-
Light poured into the small area.
Loki was suddenly pulled against something warm and soft and comforting. It smelled like strawberries.
"I swear, Tony will be missing teeth when I'm done with him!" Pepper hissed. The seven year old gasped weakly for air, and he faintly recognized the cold liquid on his cheeks. All he could understand was the light and Pepper's voice. "Are you okay, sweetie?"
"I-I'm fine," Loki whispered. "P-please don't put me in the d-dark again."
"No, sweetheart. Never ever ever, okay?" The strawberry-blonde promised. "You're shaking. You wanna go get some water?" The boy nodded and didn't fuss when she picked him up and settled him against her hip. He did whine as she started to walk away and he remembered his painting. "What's wrong?"
"M-my project!" He reached weakly for the discarded paper. The woman nodded stiffly and walked forward to retrieve it. She bit back a gasp when she saw what it was of.
"Loki, this is beautiful! You made it?" She smiled softly. He nodded. "It's very pretty. I like all of the nice colors. I'm sad, though. Where am I?"
Loki gasped. "I'm sorry!" He stared down at the painting and tilted it to the side. The boy reached deep inside himself for the warm feeling that came from his magic. Carefully, he pulled colors from the picture to add Pepper in, leaning on Tony's shoulders and smiling warmly.
If Pepper was amazed by the child's show of talent, she didn't express it. She simply laughed, thanked him, and gave him a loving kiss on the cheek.
"Let's get a frame, alright? And we'll find the perfect place to hang it, so don't worry. Now, water?"
"Hmm-mmm."
The duo relocated to the kitchen where Pepper fetched Loki a glass of water and sat with him at the counter. Slowly, the boy drank the entire glass.
"Thank you," he managed quietly and set the glass down on the counter.
"It was nothing," the woman bit her lip. "Do you... Do you want to talk about what happened?"
Loki took deep breaths and fought back more tears. "I was... I-I pestered Da-Tony too much a-and he got really m-mad, but ever-ryone was busy a-and I just wanted to s-show them my p-picture. B-but it was really, r-really dark in there, and I d-don't like the dark because it h-hurts-!" He whimpered and buried his face in her shoulder, trembling. More quietly than before, he whispered, "I-I'm sorry."
"No, sweetheart. You're fine. I don't think you did anything wrong; Tony's been very busy lately and it's making him unhappy. It wasn't right of him to push that unhappiness on you," Pepper smiled and tried to be consoling. Suddenly, she realized why Loki might not have let everyone leave so easily. "Loki, did everyone tell you what they do?" He shook his head and looked up at her. "The people who live in this tower are a team of superheroes or... warriors, I guess. They're called the Avengers, and their jobs are to protect everyone on the planet... er, realm."
Loki's eyes widened. That's why everyone was getting ready for battle!
Tears filled the boy's eyes and he quickly let loose an apology. Pepper shook her head and told him it was fine.
"Would you like to see some pictures of them as... warriors?" She suggested. The seven year old smiled and nodded. "JARVIS, can you pull up pictures of the team in the living room?"
"Certainly, ."
"Come on. We're moving to the living room." The strawberry blonde gently lifted Loki and carried him to said room. Already on the television were several images of the Avengers in full uniform from press conferences and news reports. There were also pictures people had taken of them and posted on the Internet, as well as their pictures from their SHIELD files.
Loki smiled softly, filled with awe. These were the people he lived with; these were the people who helped others and made sure everyone was content. These were the people who loved him and treated him like family. These people were special.
As the pictures drifted across the screen, the seven year old noticed one with the six Avengers and another, darker figure. The man was tall and lean, with dark hair and sharp eyes. He was chained and muzzled. The Avengers looked tense around the man, and they were covered with various wounds. Loki's breath caught in his throat.
That was him.
"I would like to paint, now," he murmured quietly to Pepper and turned away from the screen, burying his face in her shoulder again.
Loki did not like how dark he looked in the future.
"Alright. Where are your supplies?" The woman questioned and ran her fingers through his hair.
"My room."
They moved calmly through the tower, and Loki began to paint while Pepper made a 'very important phone call.' The child grabbed a piece of thick watercolor paper and his set of paint cakes and brushes. He quietly scuttled into the bathroom to grab a cup of water while Tony's girlfriend dialed the number of a certain not so genius, billionaire, philanthropist, playboy.
"Tony, when you get back here, I swear I am going to kill you!" She hissed into the phone and stepped out into the hall, leaving the door open a crack so she could keep an eye on her charge. "What on earth were you thinking?!"
"Whoa, what?" The man's voice crackled to life across the speaker. Faint explosions could be heard in the background, and Natasha gave orders over the comm line, which was linked to Pepper's call. "Are you okay? Is Loki causing trouble?"
"Is Loki causing trouble?! No, that little angel is just struggling to not be traumatized right now!" She growled.
"Traumatized?! What happened? What's going on?" Tony demanded. The sound of a repulser blast caused a small explosion.
"You locked him in a closet!"
"What?!"
"Don't you dare play dumb with me, Anthony Stark. I swear as soon as you get back here, we are going to have a very serious talk and I am going to punch you!" Pepper promised.
"What do you mean Stark locked Loki in a closet?" Natasha hissed, suddenly on the call.
"I mean I arrived at the tower and I heard Loki screaming. When I went to check it out, he was sobbing on the floor of a closet!"
"We have closets at the Tower?" Tony mumbled. "No, Pepper, no. I would never do that, I couldn't have-"
"JARVIS, did Tony put Loki in that closet?" The strawberry-blonde questioned angrily.
"I'm sorry to say he did indeed," the AI replied, sounding almost regretful.
"I-I did? What? No... I didn't... I didn't mean to. I'm so sor-"
"Tell that to Loki," the woman snapped. "You are going to apologize to him, and you are going to make it up to him. Do you want to know what he was trying to show all of you?"
"Pepper, please," Tony whispered. He didn't know what he was asking for, but she told him regardless.
"He painted a picture of the six of you as his family."
The team gasped collectively. Thor felt tears build in his eyes, while Steve noticed how his chest suddenly ached. Clint frowned, and Natasha let out a short growl. Tony cursed and stuttered out an incoherent apology.
"None of you bothered to explain to him that you were Avengers?" The woman continued, furious. "He apologized when I told him. He was sorry that he had disturbed you when you trying to help people. This whole mess could have been avoided if you told him the truth and taught him what to do. He is seven. He loves you, and he was scared of being abandoned. And you shoved that right back in his face. Everyone will be sitting down tonight for dinner, and this will be discussed."
With that, Pepper hung up and forcefully shoved her phone back into her purse. She turned sharply and reentered Loki's room. A warm smile lit her face when she saw Loki sitting at the tiny table in the center of the room. His tongue was stuck out in concentration, and his hair was pulled back in a messy ponytail. Splotches of paint were dotted across his face, and the tips of his bangs were coated in dried blue paint. His hands were a disaster, but his workspace was perfectly clean.
"Why did you let yourself get so messy?" Pepper questioned, seeing how precise the seven year old was being.
"It is better for me, who is washable, to get dirty, than the furniture, which is not so easily cleaned," the child responded after a moment.
"Well, as soon as you're done, I'm making you take a break so we can get you cleaned up," she stated with a small smile and sat beside him. "What are you painting?"
"The Avengers."
Pepper blinked and leaned forward to get a better look at his paper. Indeed, he was painting the Avengers, in uniform. They were shown with such detail that the woman was shocked at the skills of the seven year old. Steve bravely held his shield in front of him, his helmet against his boot. Natasha was crouched down in a fighting stance, guns pointed at two invisible figures in front of him. Thor stood with his hammer to the sky and summoned lighting to it. This cast a bright purple light on the Iron Man suit that hovered near the others, powering up the repulsers. Tony's face plate was flipped up to reveal a determined look with a trace of a smirk.
Very Tony, Pepper noted with a smile.
Bruce had transformed into the Hulk and was smashing a car in the background; he looked very pleased, with his mouth twisted up in a crooked grin. Lastly, Clint stood a short distance behind the ground, his bow drawn tight with his quiver visible. Pepper noticed the start of a brown blob, and she assumed that would turn into Director Fury.
"This is wonderful, Loki. You're very talented," she praised warmly. He blushed but kept working.
"Thank you."
Pepper's phone rang. It was Tony, so she ignored it. She also ignored it when it kept ringing for the next ten minutes.
Loki finally finished his painting and left it on a piece of newspaper to dry. He quickly cleaned up his supplies before Pepper led him to the bathroom. With a sigh, the strawberry blonde grabbed a wash rag and began to gently scrub the child's face. As soon as she had him tip his head back in the sink to wash his hair, her phone rang yet again; this time it was Steve.
Not quite as angry with the ignorant super solider (who ever be could for long?) Pepper answered her phone. "Yes?" She could feel Steve's discomfort across the line.
"Um, we wanted to let you know we were on our way back, but you weren't picking up for Stark so..." The blue eyed man awkwardly mumbled. "Just in case you needed to warn Loki or... something."
"Alright. Thank you, Steve," Pepper responded tiredly, trying to hide the tiny bit of guilt that popped up when she realized that Tony could've have been on his deathbed and trying to say goodbye and she would have just ignored his calls.
"No problem," he muttered and quickly ended the phone call.
Pepper turned back to Loki, who had finished washing his hair for himself and was drying it. "Everyone's on their way back." The seven year old almost dropped his towel.
"But my new project isn't done yet," he protested mildly. "I'll just have to show them the first one when I apologize then..."
"Apologize?" She blinked.
"For hindering them from going into battle. It wasn't my place," he declared. Pepper felt like crying.
"Oh, sweetie. That's okay. You don't need to apologize. It's not like you actually stopped them; I'm sure everything's fine," she assured. "You can still show them your picture. Why don't we go find that frame now?" Loki nodded happily. Pepper asked JARVIS to lead them to any extra frames, and the duo found a box of unused ones in a cabinet at the back of Tony's lab. A few minutes of rifling through the cardboard container showed that there was only one that would fit Loki's painting. They happily took it and were framing the picture in the front room when everyone came back.
Loki stiffened, but made no other moves.
"I'm sorry, Loki," Natasha apologized immediately. "I won't brush you off like that again. It wasn't very nice of me."
"It's okay," the boy responded shyly, and played with the hem of his shirt. "Um, here. You can see it now." He held out the framed painting and Natasha just smiled and gave him a light kiss to the forehead.
"It's beautiful. Thank you."
Thor came up next and tearfully pulled his brother into a hug. The child gasped and squirmed, but his brother did not release him. "I deeply regret my previous actions, brother. It was wrong of me to push you away. I should have learned my lesson by now, but it seems I have not, and I am extremely sorry. Can you ever find it in your heart to forgive me?"
"O-of course, big b-brother. Can I b-breathe now?" The seven year old wheezed. The blonde quickly loosened his arms but did not let go.
That was around the time when Pepper spotted Tony.
The fiery strawberry-blonde immediately stood from her seat. Her black high heels clicked on the tiled floor as she made her way across the room. In the blink of an eye, the brunette was on the ground. He grabbed at his face, clearly in pain.
"God, Pepper! Did Loki teach you how to punch?! Oh my gosh! What the he-"
Natasha gave him a kick for good measure.
"Stark."
Under the pressuring glares of two angry mama bears, the engineer wilted. He slowly pushed himself off the floor (hiding a wince, goodness Natasha!) and lifted his chocolate eyes to the timid child at the counter. Thor stepped slightly closer to the boy, and the women both moved closer together as if Tony was going to spring forward at any time and devour the kid whole.
"Loki, I... I'm really sorry. I know you were just trying to show me something, and I shouldn't have released my aggravation on you. And I apologize for locking in..." The man gulped, his own mind flashing back to his own places of darkness and all-consuming fear. "I'm so, so sorry for even putting you in the closet. I... I'm not asking you to forgive me, because I really don't deserve it." Loki gasped, but the man continued. "But I never should have done anything of what I did today. I hope that our relationship can still be... um, fixed."
"It's..." The green eyed boy thought for a long moment. How did he feel about all of this? The dark was scary, and it hurt, but he still wanted Tony. Tony was his Daddy now, and he was a much nicer daddy than Odin, who always ignored him and belittled him and picked away at everything about him and hit him and made him so, so sad. Tony made his life happy and bright, and he understood what real love was again. His Daddy had made a mistake, but everyone does. Loki made mistakes, and everyone forgave him for those. If he didn't forgive his Daddy for an accident, what kind of person was he? He didn't want to be like his future self, who was always sad and scared and lonely.
Loki bit his lip and stared at the brunette for another long moment. Tony obviously hadn't meant to lock him in the closet. He knew how Loki felt about the dark, and he showed his love so much that the boy honestly couldn't believe that his Daddy would ever do something like that to him on purpose.
Of course, he was still scared, but that didn't mean that he couldn't forgive Tony. He loved Tony, and Tony loved him, and people who love each other also forgive each other. If he didn't forgive Tony for a mistake like this, he clearly didn't love him or appreciate him as much as he thought.
Loki had certainly made up his mind as he carefully hopped down from his seat and crossed the room. Gently, he edged around Pepper and Natasha, also sending them thankful looks. He knelt down by Tony and stared him in the eyes. For some reason, the boy always knew when someone was lying, especially if he looked in their eyes.
The engineer looked uncomfortable, but his eyes were honest and almost tearful with how much regret swam through the dark brown pools. Loki nodded once and felt his own eyes fill with tears. He slowly wrapped his arms around Tony's shoulders. "I-it's okay," he whispered. "I forgive you. Don't be sad."
The man let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding and quickly returned the seven year old's hug. He shakily breathed into the child's dark hair for a moment and lightly rubbed his back. Loki was quivering against him, obviously still under a lot of stress and needing reassurance.
"I will never, ever do anything like that ever again," Tony promised from the depth of his soul. It sounded childish, but it was the truth.
"Loki?" Bruce questioned softly as he entered the room, Steve and Clint by his side. When he had de-hulked, he had fallen and made a gash in his side. The bleeding wasn't too bad, but Steve and Clint had helped him to the lab for bandaging while everyone else went to see the possibly traumatized seven year old upstairs.
"Here," the boy responded just as quietly and slowly pulled back from Tony. "I..." The child's heart skipped a beat. "I love you, Daddy." He quickly kissed the stunned brunette's cheek and leapt behind Thor, quivering as though he was afraid to be struck.
"Daddy?" Pepper asked and raised an eyebrow. "When did this happen?"
"A few nights ago," Tony mumbled, still shocked. "There was that storm and I tucked him back into bed. Dunno when he started thinking that way... But I like it." Loki giggled nervously and buried his face in his older brother's back. Clint laughed and clapped Tony on the back.
"Well! We all knew this was going to happen sooner or later. I'm just glad there wasn't a woman involved!"
Tony spluttered incoherently for a moment. "I am with Pepper!" He managed. "And I have never gotten a woman pregnant!"
"Not in front of Loki!" Steve snapped.
With a devious smirk, Loki quickly asked the question he knew everyone was dreading. "What's pregnant mean?"
Steve scrambled for an appropriate answer, and everyone but Natasha stiffened. Natasha lightly flicked the boy's ear. He just laughed, and everyone quickly settled down after that.
A/N: I sincerely hope you enjoyed this chapter! Here's the clarification for those of you who aren't familiar with Norse mythology.
(1) When Loki was little, (we'll say eight) he thought it would be a funny prank to cut off Sif's blonde hair. Much like Rapunzel, it turned black, and she was devastated. To make up for it, little Loki tricks the dwarves into making a wig of the finest golden hair and Thor's hammer , Mjoinir. The dwarves are not very happy when they realize they've been tricked, so they sew Loki's lips shut with leather and throw him in the dungeon. Odin doesn't rescue Loki for a couple of days.
(2) Loki's third child, Fenris, was prophesied to kill Odin and swallow the moon. This was bad for obvious reasons, so the Aesir locked Loki's son in the caves deep under Asgard. They shackled him with unbreakable chains and placed a sword in his mouth to stop the howling and devouring of anything important. Despite all attempts, Loki was never able to free his child and began to resent Odin.
(3) At the end of the Thor movie, Loki fell from the Bifrost and is lost to the void between realms. There's no oxygen, light, food, or water obviously, so Loki is slowly wasting away even though he can't really die. Being immortal sucks.
(4) Thanos caught Loki as he was falling though the void, and the Chitauri tortured him into submission. If you've read the heat exhaustion theory, you understand what I mean. Look it up.
The scene in the closet. Loki doesn't actually remember any of the previously mentions events, but the darkness reminds him of all the physically and emotionally painful experiences he's had with the dark. This causes a panic attack, which then leads to the screaming.
Now that that's out of the way...
A. Please go to my profile and vote. I want to know where I should start a How To Train Your Dragon story or not. I would really appreciate it if you could vote. The poll will be taken down March 14th, and you will able to see the results then.
B. Question of the update! What... IS YOUR QUEST?! (Virtual Loki watercolor painting for anyone who can name the quote.)
C. It's probably impolite of me to ask this, but I'm rude so I'll do it anyway. Fanart? Please? Anyone? I draw myself, but I'm absolutely terrible with fanart. Would anyone like to draw or paint or something any scenes from this story or Furious Daddy Fury (my other current Avengers fic; #ShamelessAdvertising #HashtagHastag)? There are plenty of scenes that I know would be adorable or just really unique looking. Would anyone be willing to do one of Loki's paintings?
D. My best friend's boyfriend literally broke up with her today, and she won't let me beat him up, but I'd still like to cheer her up. Any support from you guys would be really appreciated.
*bows* I have finished my shameless requests. I'm gonna go research cosplays for the anime con my mom is taking me to. *insane giggle*