"What in the world?" Tony gasped, jumping up, to see the little boy struggling to extract himself from the boxes. Steve stared into the pantry beyond his teammate's shoulder, and Bruce, who was walking out of the kitchen, stopped to see what the commotion was. Vali quietly stood up, his eyes darting around the array of new faces. "Um…"

"Vali?" His father asked quietly. "What are you doing here?"

"You said I could visit, 'member?" Vali asked worriedly, wringing his small hands together.

Tony stepped forward. "Wait a minute. Lokes, this is your kid? How'd he get here?"

Loki gently took his son's hand. "Va?"

"Teleported." Vali admitted, staring at his boots nervously. "Do… Do I h-have to g-g-go home?"

Loki looked around at the three Avengers, suddenly understanding why his little one was so upset. "You're spooking him." He whispered discreetly to Anthony, who nodded understandingly, and backed away a few paces. "No, Va. You don't have to go home, yet." Vali looked up at him with a timid smile.

"Really?"

"Yeah, of course." Loki smiled, wrapping an arm around his son's small shoulders. "May I introduce you to my friends?"

Vali glanced at three new men, wringing his hands. After a moment of deliberation, he finally nodded silently.

Loki gave him a proud smile. "That's my boy! This is Anthony Stark." He said, motioning to the engineer, who waved cheerfully. "He's the master of the tower, and he's also Iron Man."

Vali timidly stuck out his hand, and Stark stepped forward, and solemnly shook it. "Anthony, this is my son, Vali."

"Nice to meet you, kid." Stark grinned cheerfully, and Vali nodded politely, glancing up at his father.

"This is Steven Rogers, the leader of the Avengers, and Captain of America." Loki continued, keeping a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Captain, this is my son."

Steve smiled kindly at Vali, who gave him another nod.

"And Bruce Banner, a brilliant chemist, and… the Hulk." Loki finished. "Bruce, my son."

"Hey, kiddo." Bruce gave him a little wave. Vali clung to his father's hand, glancing around with fearful eyes.

"Hey, kid, you wanna come over here and sit down? Maybe I'll share my cookies, if you're nice!" Tony offered. Vali glanced back up at his father, who smiled encouragingly. Vali stared at Anthony for a long moment, then slowly stepped forward, reluctantly letting go of Loki's hand, and climbing into the chair between Sigyn and the engineer. "I'm n-n-nice." He quietly affirmed.

Tony grinned, and placed a stack of three cookies in front of the small boy, who gingerly picked the top one up, taking a bite.

"Vali." Sigyn prompted. "What do you say?"

Vali glanced at her, then the engineer. "Th-thank you, Sir S-St-Stark." He whispered.

"Call me Tony, Kid, okay?" Anthony asked, taking a bite of his remaining cookie.

"Tony." Vali nodded.

"Vali's your name, right?" Steve sat across the table from the six-year-old. "You ever heard of a movie?" Vali shook his head somberly. Tony offered the Captain a thumbs-up for thinking of it.

Loki'd only seen three movies, The Princess Bride, Enchanted (Because Tony had insisted the main character was exactly like Sigyn), and Megamind (for the same reason as Enchanted, but because of Megamind's resemblance to the god of mischief himself), but he was pretty sure Vali would like them.

"How do you think the little guy would like 'Lilo and Stitch'?" Steve asked Tony, who immediately nodded his approval. "He'd probably love it!"

So, they all piled onto the couch, well, excluding the spies, who were not invited, and Jarvis turned on the animated film. Vali appeared to be engrossed in the story, his eyes glued in fascination to the screen, watching as the little blue alien wreaked havoc around the island of Hawaii. He would laugh at all the jokes he understood, almost falling off the couch at the when one of the aliens became coated in mosquitoes, thinking they were an endangered species. Loki couldn't help smiling as his little one rolled in hysterics on his lap. He didn't understand everything, not knowing who Elvis Presley was, or much about Earth at all, let alone Hawaii. Afterwards, it was discovered that Vali could do spot-on impressions, after he said "Ohana means family." in Stitch's voice. Tony asked him to do impersonations of all the Avengers he'd met, and then do one of his father.

Vali'd glanced at Loki mischievously, and stood up. He cleared his throat, and wiggled his fingers, enjoying the reaction when a green cape and golden horned helmet shimmered into existence on the little boy, in his size, too. He stood up on the coffee table, and regarded the Avengers with a superior air. "Greetings, Midgardians." He said, matching Loki's voice perfectly. Everyone laughed, and even Loki smiled a bit.

"Today, I had planned to gift you all with my stupendous presence, but I find myself distracted, as of late." Vali went on, mimicking Loki's body language to a t.

"Oh?" Sigyn grinned. "What are you distracted by?"

Vali regarded them all solemnly, his eyes shining. "Sugar." He intoned. "I have heard your realm has the most delightful pastries…"

The Avengers dissolved into gales of laughter, and Vali grinned proudly. "Ehehehe…" He laughed, and the Avengers looked between Loki and his son.

"Which… which one of you laughed?" Bruce wheezed.

"it wasn't I." Loki inspected his nails.

"Nor I." Vali crossed his arms, arching his eyebrow in a severely Loki fashion. "I would not resort to such amusing behavior."

"Oh, really?" Loki arched the same eyebrow. "Then what do you call what you're doing now?"

"Why, I was merely making conversation with these fine warriors, here." Vali replied in a superior voice. "Do you consider that amusing?"

"How old are you, again?" Steve asked, when he'd stopped laughing.

"Six." Vali replied, hopping off the coffee table, and back onto Loki's lap.

"Dude, you're good!" Tony exclaimed. "You ought to have your own comedy show!"

"Not tonight." Loki shook his head, a wide grin on his face. "He needs sleep, tonight."

The helmet and cape dissolved as Loki picked up his son, then glanced down at Sigyn, who was making puppy eyes at him. "I can't carry both of you!" He protested.

Vali hopped out of his arms. "Carry Mama."

"Actually..." Sigyn held up one finger. "I think I'll stay up for a few more minutes. I need to talk to Anthony and Bruce, if that's all right with you?"

Loki shrugged, a little startled at the request, but not objecting. "I'm afraid I can't guarantee a ride, if you do."

Sigyn grinned. "I'll survive."

So Loki re-captured his son, and started towards the elevator, as Vali waved goodnight to his new-found friends.

Loki laid his little boy on his bed, placing a kiss on his forehead. "I'm proud of you, Vali."

"Really?" Vail's eyes widened.

"Oh, yes." Loki nodded. "I know it wasn't easy to speak to the Avengers, but you did a fantastic job. You were so brave."

Vali grinned happily, snuggling down into the soft blankets. "And teleporting between realms?" Loki continued, a smile unable to keep itself off his face. "That was fantastic! You even brought your clothes with you! You've got a natural talent, Va."

Vali giggled. "It would've been funnier if I hadn't brought my clothes…"

Loki rolled his eyes. "Sleep well, my son."

"G'night, Father." Vali yawned, turning over onto his side. Loki quietly slipped out of his room, flicking off the light as he went, and went back to his bedroom. Sigyn was sitting on their bed, waiting for him.

"Loki." She smiled at him. "Can you come over here, please?"

Loki widened his eyes apprehensively. "What did I do?"

Sigyn shook her head, a smile on her face. "You didn't do anything, that I know of."

Loki nervously sat on the edge of the bed. "Are you… are you hurt?"

"No." Sigyn replied. "I just want to talk to you."

"Alright…" Loki agreed, giving her a confused look. "What about?"

Sigyn laid the book she'd been holding in front of her. "Alright." She echoed. "So, I didn't realize you were thinking like this."

"Like what?" Loki raised an eyebrow.

"Like you didn't want to live, anymore." Sigyn said in a rush. "Have I been too wrapped up in myself? Because… I never even saw this coming."

Loki shook his head. "It's not your fault, Sig. It was… I was being selfish, I'm sorry. I won't try it again."

"I need to be sure." Sigyn sighed. "I can't risk losing you, again. I spoke with Bruce, and he said he'd been there, before."

Loki raised an eyebrow, not sure where this was going.

"He asked me to give this to you." She pushed the book toward him hesitantly.

Loki curiously picked up the book, and flipped through a few pages, only to find that it was entirely blank. "And?"

"He said to tell you to write inside every reason that you don't want to die." She whispered. "Everything in the world you can think of that's worth living to you. And when you feel like… ending yourself, again, to look through it, and remember that there's still good things in the world to live for. Every time you think of something else, you put it in the book. You don't have to show anyone, if you don't want to."

Loki glanced between her and the book. "I see."

Sigyn stared earnestly into his eyes. "I don't know what you're going through, Beloved. I've never been as low as you were, this morning. But I want to help. I'm here for you, alright?"

Loki nodded silently, and stood up, picking a pen up off of his nightstand. "Sigyn?"

"Hm?"

"If I die, again… then you can read it." He told her.

Sigyn frowned apprehensively. "You're not going to die, just so I can read it, are you?"

"No." Loki smiled. "I'm not that stupid."

He poised the pen over the paper, hesitated, then started to write. He continued writing for a good ten minutes, sometimes staring off into the distance, tapping his pen against his chin, before starting to write again, and finally setting down the book, satisfied. "There." He glanced at his wife. "Twenty-five things to live for."

Sigyn smiled, relieved. "Thank you."

"Anything for you, my sweet." He wrapped his arms around her. "I just don't want to make you unhappy. Or disappointed."

"I could never be disappointed in you." Sigyn assured him.

Loki slept in the bed, that night.

SQQQQQUUUUUUUUEEEEEEEE *fangirls over own OC* Do y'all even KNOW HOW CUTE THAT GUY IS? Ahem...

Next time shall bring you... ptsd? Thor being a weirdo? (but a cinnamon roll weirdo)

A heart gives you an emotional support Vali, a review gives you an impression of yourself from said emotional support Vali.

TheOnlyHuman.