A hunted animal.
That's what Loki was, at the moment. With the Avengers hot on his heels, already having devasted his apartment, and out for his blood. He'd have to be living on the streets for a few more weeks, once he got away, until he could manage to work up enough Midgardian monies to find a new one.
Every time the Avengers found him, his life turned upside down all over again. Almost two years he'd been on Midgard, hopping across all of New York, not actually up to much mischief, simply focusing on staying alive, and out of their grasp.
So now, as he bolted, legs aching, lungs burning within him, hot, so miserably, boilingly hot that he felt he would bake from the inside outwards, despite the light Midgardian clothing he wore. No hope in teleporting, as his sedir had been brutally ripped from him by Odin…
Alright, that was a lie. He'd entirely exhausted himself, the previous day, what with teleporting ingredients for ice cream to his kitchenette. It was really a shame; he'd whipped up over thirty gallons of ice cream, the day before, and there was no doubt that the Avengers were going to repossess all of it. And, because he'd wasted his magic on something so ridiculously trivial, without a good night's sleep to replenish his stores, he was basically helpless.
Gasping for air, he turned a sharp corner, and then quickly ducked into one of the nearby buildings' back entries.
Safe. He could rest, here. Panting hard, basically gulping air like a fish, Loki collapsed against the concrete wall, and slid to the floor, clutching the stitch in his side. He wasn't built for running, although it seemed he'd been doing a lot of it recently.
Through the glass bit of the door, his eye caught the sight of a red and gold streak, soaring past the building, and he breathed a quiet sigh of relief, resting his head against the wall behind him as his eyes drifted shut.
"You're hot."
In a flash, Loki's eyes flew open, scanning the hallway for the newly introduced threat, his hands already flying to his daggers hidden in his sleeve. Please let me have been dreaming, his poor, aching muscles pleaded, begging whoever was listening that he wouldn't have to fight it off.
It was nothing but a child.
A small Midgardian waif, staring at him with wide eyes, her hair bouncing in dark frizzy curls around her brown face. She couldn't be more than six, and Loki visibly relaxed. Still, she could pull the alarm on him. Wordlessly, he held a finger up to his lips to urge her to be silent.
"You're hiding?" She guessed, her small voice dropping to an awed whisper. "You playing hide and seek?"
"In a manner of speaking." Loki whispered back. "You can't give me away, though." That was the key, with children. Make it seem unimportant, give off the impression you wanted them to return, and they'd deliver.
The child nodded, and settled herself next to him contentedly. "Who you playin' with?"
Loki flinched violently, as the great green beast stomped by, grunting its displeasure at not finding him. "Them." He gestured out to massive monster.
"That's the Hulk." The child whispered, because of course, she would know who Earth's Mightiest Knuckleheads were. "You're playing with the Avengers? Are you a Avenger?"
Loki could only shake his head, his exhaustion well and truly catching up with him. "Child… what's your name?" He breathed weakly.
"I'm Elly." She stated with a tiny smile, and extended a pudgy hand towards him. Right. Midgardian tradition stated that he must shake it, upon meeting someone new. Firmly, but not enough that he'd hurt the child, he pumped her hand once, with a nod. "Loki."
"Lukey?" She furrowed her tiny brow. The notion struck Loki's addled mind that if she knew his name, and recognized him, he could lose an ally, even if small. Or, if she didn't, she could tell her parents that she'd met a man called Loki who met his description, and Thor and his team of groupies would have a definitive lead. Better to let her think he was called something as insipid as Lukey. "Yes. Elly?"
"Uh-huh?"
He scrubbed a weary hand over his eyes. "Have you any water?"
She solemnly shook her head. "But the water fountain's over there, if you want some."
Want some.
Ha.
Loki would die without water.
Scrambling to his feet, he staggered down the five feet of hall towards the "water fountain", and had no choice but to degrade himself to bending over the faucet, and lapping the water up as it flowed. Elly seemed to think this was normal behavior, though, and when he finished, she gently took his hand.
"Hey, I got to get back to my class." She smiled. "Ms. Brexton only let me out to go potty. It was nice to meet you, though, Mr. Lukey!"
"Wait." Loki ordered. "Class? What is this place?"
"It's school." She piped. "All my friends are here, and we learn all kinds of cool stuff! Ms. Brexton tells us stories, and teaches us to read, and plays games… It's awesome!"
That was the moment in his head when everything clicked. The child was here, because this was a learning hall. She obviously was too young to be in a very advanced class, but, nevertheless, that was what this place was. Most likely, it was teeming with children, and, though Elly seemed to not know who he was, someone was bound to. His face was all over their news-booklet-thingies, and on the talking boxes with screens. Televisions, that was what they were called.
He needed to hide out, until the Avengers had passed, but he'd get discovered unless he did something. The child was prattling on about how much fun she had in school, but Loki had tuned her out. He needed a plan.
"Elly." He whispered, his voice coming out far weaker than he'd intended. "You're right. You must return to your studies. I shouldn't make you late, you know. Come along, which way are you headed?"
With an eager smile, she pulled his hand in the direction of her doorway. For a fraction of a second, the world tipped, went fuzzy at the edges, and Loki's body slammed into the door, and he tottered in, his head spinning. He was about to faint.
"Are you okay?" Elly asked in a concerned voice, but Loki had other problems to deal with. When he'd fallen against the door, it had swung open, and he now found himself standing inside the children's habitat, all eyes trained on him. Including the teachers. However, she looked too frazzled to deal with, well, him.
"Oh, you must be Mr. Stirling?" She breathed in relief. "Thank God you're here. Sorry to pull you in at such short notice, my husband had a stroke, and I've got to get to the hospital. Thanks so much," She continued babbling, as she gathered her belongings, "and good luck with the kids!"
Hastily, she turned to her class of waifs. "Class, this is Mr. Stirling. He'll be substituting for me while I'm gone. Be nice to him, okay?"
"Yes, Ms. Brexton." The children chorused.
And, just like that, Loki was in charge of about a dozen five-to-six-year-old kids.
Well, wasn't this an interesting turn of events? Loki obviously couldn't abandon them, at this point, and while the teacher had mistaken him for someone else, the someone most likely wouldn't be here for a while. When they arrived, he was good at spiriting himself away without being noticed, so he could most likely give them up at that moment. Until then… he had a responsibility.
"He was playing hide-and-seek with the Avengers!" Little Elly piped, and a chorus of approval swept through the classroom. The children all jumped up from their seats, and promptly swarmed him, ooh-ing and ah-ing over him.
He needed to sit down.
Clutching his throbbing head in misery, he plopped down on the floor, and heaved a sigh through clenched teeth. After a few moments, the room stopped spinning, and he was able to focus on his newly-acquired charges.
"Well…" He fumbled. How did one teach a Midgardian lesson? "I suppose I ought to know all of your names." He began, as a start, and, immediately, all the little ones volunteered their names, ages, recent achievements, fresh boo-boos, and favorite color.
This.
This was Loki's element. He'd always loved children. They were all so enthusiastic, and so eager, their little heads so very unclouded with weight of the world, that it touched his heart. Children were children, no matter what realm Loki found them all, and he loved each and every one of them, already. A wide smile spread across Loki's face, as he rubbed his hands together enthusiastically. They were going to have a lot of fun, together.
"So, you all like the Avengers?" He guessed, and they all nodded enthusiastically. "Who's your favorite?" He asked of a rather shorter boy, by the name of Trevor, with sandy-brown hair, and a ready smile.
"Cap'n 'Merica!" He enthused. "Didja know he was frozen in a block of ice for a hundred years?"
They all agreed that this was wholly awesome.
"I'd heard as much." Loki nodded soberly. Lucky for him that while under the Mind Stone's power, Agent Barton had told him basically everything he knew about the team. Even though they weren't his favorite topic, at least it would keep the lot of them occupied until their true guardian arrived. "Do you know why?"
They all fell silent, and shook their little heads.
"Well, it was an act of sacrifice, true heroism, you know." Loki smiled, faking enthusiasm. "He was in an airplane, and the… the bad guys had quite a few bombs in the hold, that were set to go off. So, there was only one way for him to save the country, since the airplane was heading for these shores. He drove the plane down into the icy cold waters to keep the bombs from blowing up, and destroying quite a bit of…" What was this country called, again? "America." He finished. "He didn't know if he was going to die, or not, but he did it, anyway, because that's what heroes do."
The children all nodded soberly, until Grace, a little girl with straight, dark hair up in pigtails raised her hand. In Midgard, Loki was pretty sure, that was how you got your authority figure's attention, so he nodded at her for her to speak.
"Why couldn't he have got a par-a-choot?" She queried.
"A what?" Loki furrowed his brow.
"Parachute!" Another kid spoke up. "Like, he coulda jumped out of the plane with a chute, and then not been frozen!"
Honestly, the Trickster didn't know what they were talking about, but, most likely, they were right. "Well… I don't actually know. I wasn't there, you know, so I don't know what was going through his mind, at that moment. Perhaps there was a reason he couldn't have used the… the… pear-chute that we didn't think of."
"Pear chute…" Elly giggled, and Loki just then noticed that she had wrapped her little arms around his waist, some time during the discussion, and was clinging to him like a limpet. Interesting… But not something he was going to put an end to.
"What about you, Elly?" Loki went on. "Who's your favorite?"
"Thor." She answered promptly.
Well.
Wasn't that interesting? "Why?" He blurted, before he could stop himself.
"Cause he's cool!" Another child piped. "He has a big hammer, and a red cape, and he can make lightning, and he sometimes hits the ground with the hammer so hard that all the bad guys fall over because he's just so strong!"
Loki resisted the urge to shove the child over, himself, and say, "Who needs a hammer? I pushed you over with my bare hands." That, however, would only cause problems, and put him out of the good graces of these children. In all honesty, he supposed they were right, too. Thor was the best of the best. Far better than him, at any rate.
If they saw Thor for what he was, the truly amazing golden child of Asgard, sure, that might leave him in shadow, again, but… he wouldn't be here, long. "Yes…" He replied in a hollow voice. "I suppose that is rather impressive."
"Yeah!" A tiny girl named Christy piped up. "I saw him on TV the other day, 'n he was talkin' bout his brother."
Loki froze, but the child didn't seem to connect the dots, and forged onwards. "He said he loves his little brother very much, and that he wishes he was nicer to him. That's why I'm nice to my little brother, too, cause Thor said that was good."
All the little heads bobbed in agreement. "Maybe if Thor was nice to his brother, he wouldn't be a bad guy."
"Yeah!" Trevor nodded. "Loki just wants a hug, I think. He's only mean, cause he wants people to look at him."
"You really think so?" Loki breathed in disbelief, still recovering from the shock that Thor said he loved him on national television.
"Yeah!" Grace nodded. "My big sister says that Loki isn't really a bad guy, anyways."
Loki shook his head in disbelief. "I'm not so sure…" He stated. "I think Loki's a monster. He was born that way, and he's always been doomed to hurt others."
"People don't get born bad!" They corrected him, as one voice, almost. "You gotta forgive him!"
Loki shook his head. "The Avengers don't. They're still after him. They're chasing him all over creation."
There was the final argument. The Avengers couldn't be wrong, right? "Maybe they just chase him to make sure he's not hurting people." A boy named Devin suggested. "Maybe they're chasing him because they love 'im like Thor, and they want him to be better, and say sorry."
"But no one could ever love me!" Loki blurted. "I've done so many terrible things! And… and…."
All the young eyes were wide, and round, staring at him in shock. Not horror, just surprise.
"Your name's not Lukey…" Elly declared, finally stating the obvious. "It's Loki!"
Busted…
"You're Thor's brother?" A boy named Chase blurted. "Guys! He really does just need a hug!" At that, all the dozen children leapt up, and wrapped their tiny arms around him, declaring how special he was, and how much they loved him.
It was an entirely new concept to Loki, and, to his shame, when they sat back in their little ring around him, his eyes were wet. "You… you're all so kind…" He choked out.
"Of course!" They informed him. "You're nice, and you tell stories!"
"You're not a bad guy!"
"You're just lonely!"
"We'll be your friends, you know!"
"So you don't have to do bad things, anymore!"
"And we can be happy!"
That was the droplet that burst the dam. Loki buried his face in his hands, and sobbed with disbelief. These children, these sweet babies, had no prejudice against him in their hearts at all. They loved him, although they'd only known him for perhaps half an hour. Not even Thor, who had claimed to love him more often than basically anyone, had told him all the things he was being told, now.
He wasn't… a bad guy?
It was too much. As the children all patted his head and shoulders in comfort, Loki released sob after broken sob. He'd been holding it back for years, and the kindness these little ones had shown him was finally what smashed his façade.
"Hey, it's okay." They murmured. "Don't cry. We've got you." Someone offered him a tissue, and he gratefully accepted, and wiped his eyes, offering a timid smile.
"This is low, even for you, Reindeer Games." A tinny voice suddenly called out from behind him. "Hiding behind kids? That's just messed up."
Startled, he jumped to his feet, and whirled around to see Iron Man, standing in the doorframe, a repulsor aimed at his head. "I'm not…" He began to protest, but before he could get a full sentence out, all the children jumped up, and swarmed the metal suit, beating on it with their fists, and telling Stark to leave him alone.
They were sticking up for him.
Loki couldn't help but be touched, but they were going to get themselves hurt. "Children." He called out. "Leave the Man of Iron be. He's just doing his job."
"But I don't want you to go to jail!" Elly screamed, her eyes filling with tears.
"Elly, darling…" Loki sighed, and crouched down in front of the small child with a rueful smile. "I have to pay for what I've done. Don't worry. They won't harm me. They're the good guys."
"So are you!" She insisted. "If you wanna be?"
"You mind-wiped them, too?" Tony shook his head. "Come on!"
"Please." Loki ordered his squad of hoodlums. "Just let me go quietly. It'll be better for me."
To his surprise, Elly threw her arms around his neck one last time, and planted a kiss on his cheek. "You know I'm your friend, okay? Even when you're in jail, you always remember that you got friends."
"I will." He whispered, and fondly returned the embrace.
As the cuffs closed around his wrists, it somehow didn't seem like a loss, on his part. For, while he was officially captured, he'd gained something, that day. The children, the ones he'd thought would run cowering in fear from before him, had told him he was worthwhile, that he was loved. Prison didn't seem so dismal to face, when bearing that in mind.
Please bear in mind that I have never even set foot in a Midgardian school, so I honestly have next to no idea how they work. If I got something (or everything) wrong, uh… I'm sorry.
I'm pretty sure the teachers would be a bit more careful with the kids, and wouldn't hand them off to a random substitute with checking their credentials, or at least carding them, or something… and I'm not even sure if they're allowed to leave at the drop of a hat, even if there's an emergency.
Correct me if I'm wrong, I just… the smol beans… Loki needed to be surrounded by smol beans, so I made it work!
The author wrote this instead of sleeping.
No authors were harmed in the making of this fic.
TheOnlyHuman.