They Come on White Horses: Chapter 4
Requested by: NoVacancyMind and many wonderful others
Sequel to Knights.
Graduation is so close! I can almost taste it! And yet AP tests are in between me and it...Only Fanfiction can brighten my day!
Please enjoy and review!
Disclaimer: Don't own. Never will. So sad.
Warnings: None! Let me tell you, that is a first for me.
Not What He Imagined
Loki was currently sitting at the kitchen table with Tony and Bruce. The boys were wearing some improvised clothing, curtesy of Natasha and Steve. Normally, Loki could have magicked the two some suitable attire, but that was obviously out of the question. Instead the two Avengers were adept with needle and thread. Once they had finished the team reluctantly left the two boys with Loki, while they went to talk to Director Fury about what had happened. So, now Tony and Bruce were covered and were currently waiting peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Tony was eating like his life depended on it, while Bruce was being considerably more neat about the whole thing.
"Anthony, slow down or you will upset your stomach." Tony frowned and did slow his pace, if only a little.
"You have a funny accent like Jarvis." Loki raised an eyebrow at the young boy. He had been able to gather that Tony and Bruce were reduced to the ages of four and six, respectively. Neither of them appeared to have any memories of their life before the accident in the lab. However, they seemed to know each other. It seemed only their friendship survived the transformation. That being said, how did the young Stark know Jarvis?
"Oh? And who is Jarvis, Anthony?" Tony's eyes got wide and excited, and he smiled a very sticky smile.
"Jarvis is my best friend in the whole world! He takes care of me and cooks for me and cleans my room and makes me feel better when Daddy gets mad." Well, that was certainly unexpected. Jarvis, the AI Tony had created, was named after a real person.
"Thank you, Sir." Tony and Bruce both jumped, Bruce nearly crushing his sandwich in his hands.
"Jarvis! Where are you?" Tony appeared very confused. Bruce had yet to say a word, beyond a polite and subdued thank you when appropriate, and was now suspiciously eyeing Loki as if he had played a joke on them.
"Unfortunately, Young Sir, the man you created me after no longer works here. I am an artificial intelligence created by yourself, to monitor most areas of your life and give advice as well as companionship. You could say I live in the tower." Tony seemed upset for a few moments, but continued to ask questions.
"So, my Jarvis isn't here any more, so I made you?" Loki's heart nearly broke at the sadness in the boy's voice. From what Loki had gathered of his few days in the company of the inventor, the man had severe trust issues and always seemed to expect someone to up and leave him. If he had to hazard a guess, this might have been where it started.
"….Yes, Sir." Even Jarvis was 'affected'. But Tony bounced back quickly as children are oft to do, and went back to eating his sandwich.
"Hm." The boy didn't look at the ceiling much after that. When Bruce was finished, he slid off of his seat to take his plate to the sink. Loki stood then as well.
"I can take that for you young man. I'm not sure you can reach the sink." Bruce froze and gave Loki a very scrutinizing stare. Finally, he nodded and handed the plate over, surprise lighting his face when Loki said, 'Thank you.' Tony had just finished his third sandwich (the boy could eat considering his days without food as an adult) when the elevator dinged.
The boys looked up, equally fascinated and wary of the group they had seen before. Steve stopped the team not far from the table and looked to Loki to see if it was alright for them to talk to the kids. Loki smirked at the Captain's unease, but stood and smiled to the boys.
"Tony, Bruce, these are some people you should meet. These are those heroes I mentioned earlier, remember?" They both nodded, and Tony seemed to be vibrating with anticipation. Steve stepped forward to introduce them.
"Hello, Tony and Bruce. My name is Steve Rodgers. These are my friends and teammates, Clint Barton: Hawkeye. Natasha Romanoff: Black Widow. And Thor, the Norse God of Thunder." Bruce was looking over all of the heroes with curiosity, but Tony only had eyes for Steve.
"Your name is Steve?!" The Captain's brow furrowed at how excited the child was at his name.
"Yes. Yes it is." Tony was getting closer and closer to Steve, so the man knelt down to be at the same level.
"Like Captain America?!" Steve smiled and nodded.
"Yes. I am Captain America." Tony froze…then screamed a high pitched, piercing scream and threw himself at the poor Captain. The man had just enough time to open his arms and ensure they didn't end up on the floor.
"Captain America! Captain America! My dad talks about you all the time! He's always looking for you! But I found you! He'll be so happy!" All of the Avengers, save Natasha, were surprised at Tony's reaction. Never in his adult life, had Tony shown anything but hostility and eventually camaraderie with the Captain. And now, he was going full on fanboy. Clint would have found it as funny as Thor and the others did had he not been too busy glaring at Loki.
They were all shocked however, when Bruce quickly pulled Tony back, away from Steve.
"Hey! Wh-" Bruce put Tony behind him and stood tall, a little protector.
"We don't know them, Tony. We can't just trust them."
"But it's Captain America! He's a superhero!" Tony looked devastated, and there was a flash of regret in Bruce's eyes, but he didn't back down.
"We can't trust them." Loki was surprised at the amount of defensiveness in the six year old's stance and voice. He was just waiting for an attack. It was quite unlike the man Loki knew. However, he recognized the signs in the child. So, he motioned the team back and sat cross-legged in front of the two boys. He knew of a gesture of trust between Midgardian children, and he prayed it worked for de-aged geniuses.
"Well, Bruce, I see there is only one thing left to do." Loki stuck out his pinky in invitation. "I, Loki, God of Mischief, promise with my little finger that no one here wishes to harm you or Anthony. You can trust me on this." Bruce looked as if he were waiting for Loki's pinky to turn into a snake and bite him; which Loki could do, however he felt that would be inappropriate and counterproductive.
"You pinky promise?" Again the boy seemed very hesitant. Ah, so that is what it is called. So, Loki nodded and looked Bruce straight in the eye.
"Yes. I pinky promise." Loki could see the gears turning in Bruce's head, until finally, the boy reached out and hooked his pinky around Loki's. The boy nodded gravely.
"Alright." Tony squealed in joy as Bruce let him out to attack Steven once again. Bruce did not pull Tony away again while the rest of the team (read: Thor and Natasha) introduced themselves. Loki could tell right away that Bruce would be a hard one to make smile. As he watched how the two boys interacted and compared it to what he knew of them as adults, Loki could not help but think this was the Norn's way of giving a second chance.
The two men would get another shot at childhood (hopefully not the whole thing), with a team, or family in essence, to make it right.
Tony was happy and nearly buzzing with excitement as he met the other Avengers, but kept a tight grip of Steve the entire time. He loved Thor's enthusiasm and complimented Natasha's hair right off the bat. Must be in the Stark blood, thought Steve. The Captain was amused, but at the same time uncomfortable with the amount of attention that Tony was giving him. It was like all the boy had heard growing up was 'Captain this' or 'Captain that', and Steve got the feeling that Howard wasn't around a lot. Well, if that was the case, he hope he lived up to the kid-inventor's expectations.
Bruce was another story though. He stayed back and kept an eye on Tony, not saying a word. Loki kept a careful watch on him as he watched Tony. When the heroes introduced themselves to him personally (again, not including Hawkeye), he would stand up straight and clearly define his personal space with crossed arms and raised eyebrows. With Natasha, he would deflate a bit, hunch his shoulders, and be extra polite. It…wasn't exactly what Loki had expected of a young Banner.
In fact, neither child was what he would have expected. This means that there could be some interesting repercussions when they returned to their adult selves. Now all they had to do was figure out how to make that happen. Loki refused to take care of Tony through his teenage years.
I don't think anyone could handle a teenage Tony. Except, maybe...Pepper. ;)
Please review! :)