"So…do you do that often?"
Loki glances at Bruce out of the corner of his eye. The seven of them are seated around the large dining table in the tower, eating some strange Midgardian food that Stark – Tony, he corrects himself – had insisted they get following the battle. He cannot recall its name now (shawarma, perhaps?), but it does have a pleasant taste. Clearly the Avengers agree. Up until Bruce's question a moment ago, no one had said a word.
He raises an eyebrow, conscious of how every eye is now trained on him. "Do what?" he asks quietly.
Bruce looks down at his plate, moving his noodles around with a fork. "You were…kind of scary back there, with all your magic and stuff."
"Evil-genius-level scary," Tony says around a mouthful. He swallows. "Kinda like Darth Vader. Or maybe somebody from – "
"We're glad you're on our side," Rogers interrupts. He gives Tony a look before smiling at Loki.
Loki attempts to return the smile. It feels strange, to be directing a pleasantry at the captain.
Tony points at him. "Right there! That face. It's exactly what Bruce is talking about. You look…maniacal."
Loki sighs, turning back to the doctor. "It seems that I do, in fact, do 'that' often, then."
Bruce laughs. "Maybe that's a good thing. It seemed to work against Thanos."
"Bruce is right. We might be able to use a little bit of maniacal around here," Romanoff says. She, too, is smiling.
Thor rests a hand on his shoulder, and the weight of it is oddly comforting. The mind stone's influence must be waning – especially with the death of Thanos earlier in the day. Even more comforting than that, though, is the unexpected warmth he feels at the Avengers' words.
Perhaps this is how it feels to belong, he thinks.
He is more than willing to find out.
TEN YEARS LATER
"…twenty-eight….twenty-nine…thirty! Ready or not, here I come!"
Morgan giggles. Though he can't help but smile back, Loki raises a finger to his lips, gently shaking his head. She nods in understanding, her expression immediately becoming more serious.
"I used a simple spell to make us invisible," he whispers, "but he will still hear us if he comes close enough."
Peter's voice echoes down the hall. "I wonder where Morgan and Loki could be!"
Loki winks at Morgan, and she grins back. They're wedged into the space between the elevator and the nearest file cabinet on this floor of the tower. It's not a floor frequented by the team – especially since everyone but Rogers seems to be averse to the paperwork side of hero life. Besides; do they even need a paperwork floor? Coulson handles all of that.
"Boo!" Peter flips down from the ceiling, his upside-down visage making him appear even more foolish than usual.
Morgan shrieks in surprise before breaking into laughter, and Loki mock-frowns at the teenager, letting the spell fall away. "I thought we had agreed upon no powers, Spider."
Peter shrugs, grinning. "That was before you decided to cheat and use your fancy invisibility cloak."
"It is not a cloak. It is a cloaking spell, which your spider senses should not have picked up on. Besides which, I never cheat." He gives them both his most imperious look – the look he once reserved for visiting dignitaries and his father's council meetings. "I am a prince. I am above the law."
Morgan giggles as Peter drops to his feet. "And I'm a princess!" she exclaims, reaching for Loki. He picks her up, taking her to Peter's eye-level. "So Peter has to be a prince, too."
"You are certainly both Stark royalty," Loki says. He lowers his voice to a whisper. "But don't tell your father I said that."
Just then, a familiar voice breaks into their conversation. "Prince Loki, Mr. Stark has requested that you, Peter, and Morgan return to the common floor now."
Loki glances at the ceiling. "Thank you, JARVIS. Tell the old man we're on our way."
The moment they step out of the elevator, Morgan jumps from his arms, racing over to her father.
The sight warms Loki's heart. He has made peace with his family since the battle against Thanos, but such an open display of affection from a father to a child is still foreign to him. After all their late-night talks in the lab, he knows that Tony feels the same – but the genius is doing everything in his power to break that old cycle.
As if he knows when he is being thought about, Tony turns to face Loki. "Who you callin' old man, old man?"
Loki huffs, eyeing the ceiling. "Traitor."
"I'm terribly sorry, Prince Loki, but my loyalty lies with Mr. Stark," JARVIS replies, amusement clear in his tone.
"Besides," Tony continues, "I'm not the one who's a thousand and eighty."
"And I am not the one with graying hair," Loki counters, in the sweetest voice he can manage. At his side, Peter laughs, nudging Loki's shoulder with his own.
Tony feigns a mixture of shock and disgust at Peter's laughter. "Excuse me, young man, but which one of us got you into MIT?"
"Um…I got myself into MIT."
Tony pauses a moment, then waves his free hand dismissively. "Details. C'mon, you two – Cap's gonna have a heart attack if we miss the fireworks tonight, so we gotta get this show on the road." He ruffles Morgan's hair, making her giggle. "Reindeer Games, are you wearing anything even remotely patriotic? This is your first Fourth of July as an official citizen of the United States!"
Loki rolls his eyes. So dramatic. With a wave of his hand, he changes his dark green top to a simple gray t-shirt with a picture of the American flag on it. Though wearing such ridiculous human clothing grates on him, he supposes he can make an exception for one night.
When he reversed time all those years ago, he never expected to find what he has found here – friendship, loyalty, kindness…a family. Even their country has opened its arms to him, in thanks for all he has done as an Avenger. The irony of that will never be lost on him. Hence, it seems fair that he suffer through a few hours of looking more like a mortal than he would prefer.
Tony throws his free arm around Loki's shoulders. "Look at us. One of my protégés is off to college, the other is accepting American culture…" He pretends to blink back tears, resting his head against Morgan's. His voice is much higher than normal when he says, "They grow up so fast!"
Loki half-heartedly tries to pull away, using only a fraction of his true strength. "You are insufferable," he mutters, smirking.
Tony winks at him. "Back at ya, Reindeer Games."
Loki starts at the words. That is exactly what Tony said to him upon his return to life, when they were plotting how to send him back in time. He searches his friend's eyes for an answer – and finds a flicker of memory buried deep in Tony's gaze.
Tony grins knowingly. "Happy Fourth of July, Loki."
He laughs, incredulous. This man will never cease to surprise him. "Happy Fourth of July, Tony."
As they make their way out onto the balcony, Loki feels a prickle of awareness on the back of his neck. Curious, he throws one last look over his shoulder.
Hela stands in front of the bar, hands on her hips, invisible to all eyes but his own. Her voice rings in his mind, clear and full of pride. Well done, little brother.
Relief fills him. He hadn't been sure if she would reach out to him – and after so many years of waiting for any word from her, he had simply figured that she would remain silent. Seeing her today means that he can finally put old fears to rest. All will be well, now.
Loki inclines his head in thanks, unable to stop himself from smiling at his sister.
Without a second more of hesitation, he turns back around, following his newfound family out into the sunlight.
A/N: The sun did shine on them again after all! :) Thank you for letting me take you on this journey. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.