Previously, we read how fifteen-year-old Loki had become trapped as an AI. More importantly, trapped as Tony Stark's AI. We watched as he befriended the Avengers, pranked them relentlessly, and eventually, was liberated by a clever spell he'd thought of in a previous life. Our story picks up exactly where it left off, with our hopeful little hero curled up in bed, not a full twenty-four hours after having regained his body.
As dawn broke through the window, shining its' light on Loki's calm, peaceful face, Thor burst into the room, and ripped the covers off of Loki's still-sleeping body.
"Wake up, Brother! We have much to do, this day!"
Loki groaned irritably, and merely curled in on himself. His achy body didn't feel like moving, let alone getting up. "Lemme alone, Thor…" He whined, pulling a pillow over his head. "I wanna sleeeeep…"
"You'll have plenty of time for slumber, tonight!" Thor insisted. "Come, our friends are waiting for us!"
Loki turned over, and sent a quick glance around the room.
Oh, yeah.
This wasn't Asgard.
Blearily, he rubbed at his eyes, pushing himself up into a sitting position. "What are we doing, today?"
"Anthony wishes to take you shopping for new garments, and Wanda would like to introduce you to Midgardian food, and I wish to show you the city, and, Natasha wishes to spar with you, and Clinton has music he'd like you to listen to…" Thor rambled, counting off on his fingers.
"Alright, I get the idea.' Loki glanced down at his blue body, clothed in the comfortable pajamas Anthony had lent to him. Suddenly, a tiny spark of doubt kindled itself in Loki's mind. Anthony and the rest of the Avengers had liked him well enough when he was a robot. He hadn't needed to eat, drink, sleep, or anything. He was helpful, for the most part. Now, he was a burden. Would the Avengers still like him? Or would they think he was a waste of time? Especially if he stayed abed, like his gut was telling him.
They'd been so kind to him, so far. The least he could do is repay them.
Sluggishly, he slipped off the mattress, grabbed the clothes Anthony had lent him the previous day, and shuffled into the washroom. Quickly he slipped into his clothes, and rejoined his brother in the hall. "I'm ready!" He smiled, offering a smile, that, for some reason, he wasn't really feeling. His stomach felt funny, and his eyes were hot.
Thor grinned, and tugged Loki by the sleeve down the hall to the communal room. The Avengers were eating breakfast together, a strange food called waffles, and Thor sat Loki down in a chair next to his. Distractedly, Loki rubbed at his itching eyes, again, and accepted one of the strange circles Anthony was holding out to him.
"Hey, Rudolph, you don't look so hot." The engineer noticed, his eyes filled with concern.
"I'm Jotun." Loki cracked a smile. "I cannot be hot."
"Stark has a point." Steve agreed. "Are you feeling okay, Loki?"
Loki glanced at the two Avengers nervously. Was this a test? If he said no, they would think him weak, and useless. To be sick on his first day as a man, again. But… if he said yes, he'd be lying.
"Nonsense!" Thor boomed. "Loki hasn't been sick since his infancy! The sons of Odin don't get held back by a case of sniffles! He merely does not like early mornings."
There it was. If Loki said anything, now, he'd not only appear weak, but he'd be dishonoring the Odinson name. With a courageous smile, he dug into the waffle. It tasted like sawdust, but to be polite, Loki gulped it down anyway.
After breakfast, he followed Anthony down to the garage as the engineer rambled about all sorts of strange things. Loki's ears were ringing, and he subconsciously tuned his friend out. He sat down in the passenger seat of the vehicle, closed his eyes, and leaned his head back against the seat.
"Hey, Lokes." Tony's voice cut through his thoughts.
"Huh?" Loki glanced over at him, opening his eyes with a great effort.
Tony hadn't even turned the car on, yet. "Are you okay?" He asked seriously. "Really?"
"Yeah." Loki's voice seemed to be coming from very far away. The waffle churned restlessly inside his gut, and Loki swallowed hard to make sure it stayed down. "You?"
Anthony narrowed his eyes. "You sure don't look okay."
Suddenly Loki's stomach turned a somersault, and with a distressed squeak, he emptied his stomach all over the interior of Tony's Ferrari.
Loki knew how expensive the car was.
He knew he'd done the unforgiveable. With horror, he stared up at Tony's frozen face. "I'm so sorry…" He whispered, shrinking down in his chair. "I didn't mean it, really…" Tears stung the back of his eyes, and before he knew it, they were rolling down his cheeks. He was so miserable, and he just wanted to go to bed. Why did he always have to ruin everything he touched? Why was he so useless? His face felt hot and swollen, and Loki miserably buried it in his shaking hands as he sobbed uncontrollably.
That was when a pair of strong arms lifted him up from the seat of the car, and gently began carrying him away. Loki glanced up to see Tony's sympathetic face smiling down at him. "You should have told me you were sick, Rudolph." He gently chided.
"I'm sorry." Loki whispered. "I don't want to be so useless."
"You're not useless." Tony corrected. "it's not your fault you're not feeling good."
"But I could be strong." Loki protested weakly. "Thor would be strong. Odinsons don't slow down for something so trivial."
Tony shook his head, stepping into the elevator. "Thor's wrong. Just like it's okay to cry, sometimes, it's totally okay to be sick."
Loki wiped the vomit off his chin. "Really?"
"Yeah, we won't look down on you for it." Tony assured. "You don't have to be 'useful' for us to care about you. We're your family, you know that, right?"
"Family?" Loki repeated wistfully.
"That's right." Tony nodded, carrying Loki down the hall to his bedroom. Sure, Loki didn't like being carried, most of the time. He was practically a man, honestly, and being carried around like an infant, or swooning maiden was quite shameful. But the alternative, actually walking to his bed, sounded far worse. "It's really a shame, it's your first day being a person, again."
"I can work." Loki weakly put forth. "I just… Maybe I could take a nap, and then help you?"
"You're not working today, you're sick." Tony repeated. "That's the point of a sick day. I say it's a shame, 'cause I would have wanted you to enjoy your first day, here."
"Why?"
Tony gently set Loki down on the closed toilet lid. "'Cause I like you. You're a good kid, and I wanna see you happy. Go ahead and take a nice hot bath, change into some comfy PJs, and I'll get some chicken soup or something for you, okay?"
Loki watched as the engineer closed the door to his washroom, leaving him alone. Shakily, he struggled out of the strange Midgardian clothes, and turned the tap on to a comfortable temperature. As the water rose, so did Loki's hopes. Anthony didn't want him around for what he could give the man, he liked him for who he was. Perhaps the others did, too. It was interesting, and somewhat gratifying to know.
He steeped himself in the warm bathwater for quite some time, letting the warmth ease the aches from his bones, until he felt slightly better, but very tired. He then crawled out of the tub, and wrapped himself in one of the soft, fluffy towels, and found he did not have the energy to do anything more than sit on the tiles, and lean his head on the lip of the bathtub.
He sat there, drifting in and out of a slight doze, until there was a soft knock on the door.
"Come in." He called in a small voice, and the door slowly opened, to reveal his older brother.
"Oh, Loki…" Thor sighed, his face creased in worry and concern. "I'm so sorry. I had no idea you were actually sick."
Loki's mind wasn't exactly working correctly, and he stared stupidly at Thor, as he knelt down on the wet tiles, wrapping the miserable Trickster in a warm hug.
"I never should have said that, Brother." Thor apologized. "How are you feeling?"
Loki shook his head, nuzzling into Thor's embrace. Undignified? Yes. Childish? Absolutely. But at that moment, Loki wanted nothing more. "Not so good." He admitted, and the Thunderer nodded sympathetically.
"Come, let's get you to bed." Thor's mighty arms scooped Loki's thin body off the tiles, and gently carried him back to his awaiting mattress. As Loki's damp head hit the pillow, a slow smile spread across his face.
"Would you like me to stay with you for a while?" Thor offered kindly, and Loki nodded, his eyes drifting shut. Before long, he was asleep, Thor's gentle hand tracing through his dripping locks.
Awww... I get fluffy feels just thinking about this...
TheOnlyHuman.